Chasing Lilies
by plvto
Summary: It's said that dying is the one thing that all humans will experience. What came after, however, is something that she's quite sure is an anomaly. OC/SI
1. Chapter 1

Summary: The Theory of Everything states that all the physical aspects of a universe are linked together—connected in a sense. To an extent, that theory supports the ideology that everything affects everything. But what happens when you were never meant to become part of that 'everything' in the first place?

 **Edit: 8-3-16**

 **I have revised this chapter and edited its silly grammatical errors! Hurray.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

When I died, I expected to stay dead. Of course, as I'm here retelling this story now, I clearly did not.

It's just that the whole(and I use this term as loosely as possible) reincarnation business was a bit too much for me to swallow. The idea that a person's soul could transfer into another sentient being was(and still is) preposterous to me.

Even now I cannot fully accept what happened. There's always that tiny feeling—that 'what if' aspect as in 'What if I'm not dead?' or 'What if I'm simply lost in a dream?' I had a family before, though for the life of me I can't remember who they were. I saw glimpses—little blurs and distant voices that barely anchored me to who I was. I could recall the moments of significance—all the important bits, but the images to fit the descriptions were simply no longer there.

Even my name, my first ever possession in my past life, was long forgotten.

I was given the name Mai in this life, though often I wonder if I truly am Mai, or if I'm simply a soul that latched on and stole 'Mai's' body. The name Mai was too delicate, too kind for a kunoichi, and perhaps being a kunoichi was never meant to be the real Mai's future. Perhaps if I had never intervened, she would have followed in the path of her mother and become a working girl in Konoha's red light district. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for a whore's daughter to become a working girl too. Truth be told, though, I like to think that I am Mai, just a Mai with memories decades beyond her years. Ignorance (to whether or not I had stolen some poor girl's life) truly was bliss.

I'll call this a reincarnation, seeing as I can't grasp a term that can completely fit my situation. After all, usually reincarnations held no memories of a past life that was connected to their new one.

I'll spare you the details of my past life, partly because of their irrelevance and partly because I can no longer retell them. My death was the one and only thing I can still bring to mind, and that I still will be able to do decades later. It had been unforgettable, seeing as I had a firework impale me, followed by a rain of blood, guts, and innocuous limbs. Needless to say many of the attendees had to attend therapy sessions for years after the event.

While my death was odd, to say the least, what was odder was the event that followed my untimely demise. I lingered around for a bit, attending my own funeral and scoffing at the strangers who wished they had known me better.

And then I disappeared. Not mentally, of course, because if I had ceased existing all together I wouldn't be able to retell my time of not existing. It was my physical body that faded away, leaving me with nothing but a floating mind. Maybe I was in purgatory, or maybe I was never dead at all. The ideas that come to your head when you're left with no one for company but yourself are strange, to put it lightly.

Floating through nothingness affected me—affected my soul even, though I don't like to admit it. I lost things in there, I lost parts of myself in there. You see, the empty space surrounding me was only a physical feeling. What I felt in my mind was far worse. I felt death, in a way. I felt the loss of life from everything around me, a constant draining of the will to live, which was odd when there was nothing around me I could see with my vision. I mourned over my own death for the first few days spent in what I came to call Oblivion, but one can only pity themselves for so long before becoming bored.

So I thought about other things. I thought about my life and what I loved and hated. I thought about my siblings and their contrasting personalities. I thought about my life at college and grasped at the images that I could feel slipping away. I spent an eternity in Oblivion(or perhaps it was only a few hours?)

And then I woke up.

I'll spare you the details of my birth, seeing as all I would be describing is the sensation of being pushed out of a vagina. It was an odd feeling—being reborn again—but I was indescribably relieved over it. Of course if I had known what the future had in store for me, I wouldn't have rejoiced so soon. In fact, I would have gladly driven myself to insanity in the god forsaken place that was Oblivion.

Of course either way, my feelings of happiness were quickly squashed when the situation fully sunk in. Being a baby with the mind of an adult was... Indescribable. It was the uncomfortable temperatures that were too hot or too cold and the constant coddling that was too much or too little. It was the extreme nearsightedness that all newborns have that impaired me for the first six months of my rebirth. It was the extreme chill of winter that hit me once(which later I would figure out to be my mother dropping me off at an orphanage in the midst of winter). It was all those things and more added together that reduced me to seem nothing more like an infant anyways, aged mind be damned.

Basically, I cried, shit myself, and vomited a lot. A humbling experience for an adult who had lived on their own for several years already. I was a child from hell to all my caretakers in the orphanage, beginning to crawl before I could fully see and almost getting myself killed as a result.

But I was fine, showing no signs of being more intelligent that a baby should have been. Granted that was most likely because I couldn't speak yet either. I knew the language the adults were speaking around me was most likely Japanese, as some words I vaguely recalled from my. days of militant anime watching. I paid no mind to it. It's not like it would have been likely for me to be reincarnated into America anyways, especially since they named me Mai.

And then the day of the reveal came during my seventh month of rebirth. We often had visitors at the orphanage—potential adopters. It was a normal occurrence for them to make an appearance. What wasn't normal was the fact that that day's visitor took an interest in me. Usually they went for the older kids—the kids that seemed like they needed the most care to readjust to the 'real' world. Adopters, shinobi especially, just didn't want a sniffling, crying baby on their hands.

The man(I assumed it was man when I saw the short hair) who had singled me out leaned in closer, closer, and _closer_ , until every detail in his face was crystal clear.

It's funny how even now I remember the exact thought that went through my head that fateful day.

'Oh shit.'

Because not only had my 'reincarnation' been botched up. By the looks of the hitai-ate wrapped around the man's forehead, I had also been 'reincarnated' into the world of Naruto.

Yes, 'Oh shit,' indeed.

* * *

Authors Note: Wahh I'm so excited to be posting a story on here! Hopefully I don't do too badly with my SI. Much love guys! Please review and critique to help with my writing!


	2. Chapter 2

**Edit 8-4-16: This chapter has been revised, thank god!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

As unfortunate as it is, the mysterious man whose face had been far too close had decided to not adopt me. I like to assume that this decision came after he saw the look of horror and disgust that appeared on my face when I realized what kind of situation I had put myself in, rather than before, because goddamnit I'm certain I was adoptable. Unfortunately, I rejoiced far too early, as he was only the first of potential (creepy)adopters that would flow through during my life as an orphan.

The odd thing about the shinobi world was that normal, friendly civilians adopted older kids—kids less dependent, who could care for themselves if need be. It was the creepy group of suspicious nin that attempted to adopt the smaller kids. If I had to guess why, it'd be mostly because of how malleable young children tended to be. That innocence and that willingness to please the adults were what attracted strange people like Orochimaru and Danzo. Children who were more than happy to do things to find acceptance from their guardians were what brought upon the ROOT program and Orochimaru's earliest experiments.

I suppose that was one of the benefits of having an adult's mind in a child's body. Many of the stranger potential parents put their guard down around me, leaving their true personalities out for me to see. That's what lead to my continuation of the well deserved nickname of hell child. Every off putting adult that visited me was left with numerous bite marks and scratches placed in oddly lethal areas. If I were ten or fifteen years older, it would have been seen as a killing attempt. What I will always regard as the most glorious result of my actions would be the children who followed in my footsteps and bit every adult that they saw too. (Oh the joys of children following the rules of monkey see monkey do.)

But aside from the lecherous adults that tried preying on me, my first couple years at the orphanage were uneventful. I was someone who craved all knowledge available to me, pestering every caretaker to teach me more kanji and every genin team who was assigned orphanage duty to tell me about the academy. Orphanage duty was one of the easier D-rank missions that genin were assigned, one that wasn't shown in the manga or anime. I presumed that it was just too boring of a topic to be touched on by the author. It was as common as it was simple. After the influx of orphans that followed the Kyuubi attack, many caretakers found themselves overwhelmed, letting me easily blend in the other kids in the orphanage. It made not doing anything too suspicious much more doable. My unquenchable thirst for knowledge was simply written off as a mere oddity, and as the years went by, my potential adopters decreased in frequency until there were none left at all. I didn't have to worry about saying things that were too intelligent—my stiff tongue having not yet learned how to enunciate complex sentences anyways—and the people I bothered for information would forget me within that same day.

Life in the orphanage was easy, though somewhat weird at times. It was strange—being humbled to a level where I had to be potty trained again. It was almost as if Fate was trying to crush my confidence in my ability to care for myself.

An interesting thing that I found strange about the orphanage was the fact that there were literally no mirrors around. Sure there were glass cabinets that I often caught glimpses of my reflection in, but no actual mirrors to be seen at all. Of course, me being me, one day I had inquired about this, directing my question towards one of the floundering genin as they attempted to assist in cooking lunch for the kids, causing them to break concentration and almost cut themselves. They had given me an odd look, as if to call me out on my ignorance towards Konoha's history.

Though their expression had been rather rude, to say the least(if I had been a lesser person, I might have bitten them for that, because they couldn't fault a child for displaying childlike tendencies after all) they answered my question anyways.

According to the kid that had given me an oh-so respectful look, mirrors were considered taboo. Apparently, I had missed the times of extreme suspicion, having been born a little less than a year after the Kyuubi attack, long enough for the word to die down. At the time of the attack, an intense wave of chakra had poured out of the Kyuubi, one strong enough to shatter every glass product in Konoha. Anything that had to do with mirrors—even reflections—had been a foretelling sign of a bad event ever since.

It was an incident that happened a few days after my second birthday that gave the rumor a little bit of truth to me.

A dozen or so of the orphans had been given the opportunity to go to the nearest park, one that was only two streets away from the only place I knew as home. That day's genin team had offered to escort us, and that caretaker had allowed me to go as a belated birthday present. The present turned out to be not so carefully thought out though, as all of the children(besides me) were four and above. My body was still unadjusted, too used to moving limbs at a faster and stronger pace. It was a humiliating experience, clumsily being lead by a child no older than twelve to a place not even five minutes away from home. I would have been twenty three now—out of a college and with a job if I hadn't died. A twinge of pain hit in the form a minor migraine and I pushed the topic of my death aside, letting the boy walk me.

When we arrived at the park the children separated into two groups, leaving me walking towards the glittering lake that had enticed me. The majority of the kids had chosen to play ninja with two of the genin, the rest being read to by the remaining shinobi. The sky was filled with perfectly shaped clouds. Large enough to cover the sun every so often but small enough to allow peaks of a brilliant blue. The sight was even prettier when reflected on the surface of the lake.

Despite all my instincts that screamed at me to stay away from the water that was just a little too dark and just a little too still, I stepped closer until I peered deeply into the reflection.

And then I saw it. I saw the thing that was supposed to be deaddeAdDeAD. I saw me. But at the same time I didn't. It wasn't me that I saw, not really. The girl who I still saw myself as, that tall, lanky girl with curly red hair and obnoxiously green eyes, was gone. In her place was a frailer child, one with short, choppy, dark hair—were those blue undertones?—and eyes too large and—golden?—empty pupils and lips too dainty and skin too porcelain to be mine. Dread washed over me and the realization that I was no longer in my world—my people my precious people my sisters my brothers gonegoNEGONE—hit me like a typhoon. I wasn't sure when my mouth had involuntarily opened or when my vocal chords developed a mind of their own but suddenly I was screeching obscenities in a language the people around me would never even discover the existence of.

And then I had fallen in, my head swiveling around as I was still screaming during my descent into the waters, catching a look of pure terror in the genin's eyes as they ran towards me. I was plunged into the lake, as bone chilling cold that enveloped my body. I was out cold before I even heard the children calling my name.

That day was the first day I had what my close friends would come to call an identity attack. That day would also turn out to be the first time(of many) that showed how violently Fate would work to get rid of a foreign entity that was never meant to exist in her world.

I had woken up in the hospital a few days after the incident, and then taken home after my vitals were determined to have been in a somewhat normal range, my lungs, for the most part, unscathed by the excessive intake of water. My caretakers would never mention how abnormal my screams had been, writing it off as my reaction to falling into the water.

Again, life resumed as normal. Another year passed as I found myself accepting the caretaker's explanation of events, falling back into my routine of terrorizing potential adopters and pestering people for knowledge. The older I got, the more willing people were to engage in a conversation with me, and eventually I found a way to win over the heart's of genin that persuaded them to teach me academy lessons. I almost hit myself when I realized how simple the solution really was. All I had to do was exclaim how amazing and glorious being a ninja was and ask them for tips to become a 'real' Konoha nin just like them. They fed right out of my hands after I boosted their egos.

Different genin taught me different things based around their interests. The brasher ones, typically guys, taught me fighting tactics and tried explaining flashy jutsu. The quieter guys tried to explain chakra control and meditation, and every so often taught me things about Konoha's history and even briefly went over the history of the other four villages. The proud kunoichis spoke about the bloody sides of Konoha, capable of rambling on and on about the Third Shinobi World War and how victorious we had been. That lesson was one I particularly despised, having come from a world where killing was certainly not encouraged by small children who haven't even hit puberty yet. The most calming lessons usually came from the shyer kunoichi, persuaded by the rest of their team to keep me company after twenty or so minutes of begging. They explained flower arrangements and taught me how to cook fast meals—things to help a kunoichi blend in as a normal civilian during an undercover mission. One especially helpful girl taught me how to draw, a skill I clung to desperately for years after the lessons. She came by often after her missions to continue teaching me, something I greatly appreciated.

The drawing lessons had been more for accuracy in describing nins we ran into during missions, though I abused the skill to almost ravenously draw faces from my past life that I still couldn't bring myself to let go. Already my memories were fading, the names of my childhood best friends long forgotten as I made new ones in the orphanage. Though I confess to never truly seeing those children as my friends. They were replacements for my younger siblings that I had left behind, and would never be viewed as anything more to me, as much as I would like to deny those claims.

I would never admit this now, but I hadn't actually planned to follow through with my declarations of becoming a ninja. That life was too deadly for me—too full of unexpected and unwanted thrills. I was trying to actually live past my twenty first birthday this time around.

Things had turned out alright in the old manga series, and I had no events that I desperately wanted to change and no qualms about the ending. They were all still characters to me—people who were walking around that I couldn't bring myself to see as people. Sure, Jiraiya's death was sad, but did I have to change it just because I knew things that I shouldn't have known? If I had died as a child I would have creamed my pants at the opportunity to do so, but I was no longer a child mentally, and if I changed too much of the past, the future that I knew of would be worthless information anyways.

But even so I had fantasies at night. Saving Nagato and Konan would have been great, and saving Itachi would have been even better. Even some of the Akatsuki seemed salvageable—Deidara had been forced into the Akatsuki anyways, only a child, and Sasori had clearly had a change of heart(a bad joke since a heart was all he had). Kisame was loyal to the end, a trait that would have Konoha begging for him, and Kakuzu could be easily won over by money. They all would have made valuable assets to help in the Fourth Shinobi World War. To travel back further in time, even saving Yagura seemed like a good-ish idea. The Sanbi would have never fallen into Tobi's hands. The idea of saving Zabuza and Haku appealed to me too, as they were people who would have been Naruto's pillars in life if they had survived. But in the end that was all they were—fantasies.

Of course, Fate has a way of screwing over every plan of (in)action I had. It happened while I was in the middle of one of my begging sessions to the genin, yelling out how badly I wanted to become a ninja. By then all the workers had become accustomed to my childish ramblings and requests, caving in before I even approached them, but this was a new batch of genin, one that I had to use my charms on to win over.

"I'm gonna be a super strong ninja just like you guys!" I exclaimed, drowning all of them under waves of adorable, childish dreams and a high pitched voice that reached the perfect octave to not seem irking.

"Yeah! And I'm gonna become Hokage! Believe it!" My act was thrown out the window as I almost gave myself self-induced whiplash by turning around to find the source of that painfully familiar voice.

In front of me stood a tiny blond boy with whisker marks that were—curse my weakness for little details—horrifyingly cute. An equally terrified look appeared on my face as I realized that I had just screwed up every plan I had of not getting involved with the main story line. Now that he was here in front of me, I couldn't just ditch the kid and leave him to suffer the wrath of blind civilians who saw him and treated him like a monster. It was in that moment that I made my decision to say, 'fuck the other decision.' I opened my mouth to reply in support of the boy's dreams of becoming something that I knew he would become, but was interrupted by a voice who had once seemed so kind.

"Fox brat! Who said you could run around already? You just got here, you little demon! Go up to your room. You're not getting dinner tonight!" The voice—a caretaker who had be so, so sweet to me before—snarled, nostrils flared aggressively, not even making attempt at concealing the S-ranked secret.

I gazed on in horror as the caretaker proceeded to grab Naruto by the ear and drag him away, leaving me speechless and the genin uncomfortable about what was going on. They were around twelve—old enough to have witnessed the Kyuubi attack, and found out what had happened and who it had been sealed in. I connected the dots, feeling the sudden urge to run up to Naruto and give him a hug. One genin awkwardly coughed while another simply stare down at the ground. I frowned in barely concealed disapproval as my want to learn from the group was suddenly diminished by a landslide.

"You guys are mean." I stated bluntly, in that way that only children could, smothering them with a false innocence to guilt them into an even more uncomfortable state where one muttered an excuse to go help clean up, while another said something incoherent about finding their sensei. That was pathetic. Turning around to go find something else to occupy my mind with, I made one last final jab at the remaining genin, "Maybe you guys are the demons."

As soon as I got out of their line of sight, a smirk made its way onto my face. Children really were easy to manipulate and take advantage of. Most of them would feel guilty immediately if chided by someone, even if that someone seemed to be years younger than them.

Dinner time approached quickly as the atmosphere was noticeably heavier in the house. Naruto was nowhere to be found, while the rest of the children were desperately trying to find a way to assure themselves that their caretakers were still the same kind people that had taken care of them before, something that seemed impossible for me to achieve. Suddenly a lot more things began to make sense in my head, like how the youngest caretaker with a scar on her face had a fire in her eyes that screamed of anger and resentment, or how the girl who always talked about the battles of Konoha had always frowned when teaching me about the Kyuubi attack, or how many people I saw, genin included, always had a vengeful look when they talked about the Kyuubi that the records claimed was dead.

"Ah, Ito-san, may I eat in my room? I feel icky and I don't wanna get Mayu-chan sick." I asked with an even more childish tone than usual. My appetite just wasn't there tonight, and using the other kids to help gain sympathy from the caretaker, Ito-san, seemed to be working.

She nodded and I quickly gathered my eating utensils and my bowl of soup and rushed upstairs, trying my hardest not to accidentally spill anything. Even though three years had passed in this new body, my limbs continued to refuse to work the way that I wanted them to, and more often than not I found myself tripping over my own feet. I arrived on the second floor and high geared my ass to the end of the hall, already knowing what 'room' Naruto had been put in. The rest of the children had been given rooms to share with each other while still having plenty of space, while Naruto was given the one at the end of the hall. It wasn't even a room, more like a storage closet with a tiny bed stuffed into it and one rusty drawer for Naruto's belongings.

I knocked once before flinging open the door, too excited to not have more patience and gentleness with the boy. I couldn't believe that I was face to face with someone who would grow up to become the savior of the world and the harbinger of world wide peace. It was like meeting a war hero or a celebrity, though the look of surprise and fear that crossed his face broke my brash approach immediately. I felt what little food that was in my stomach stir as I saw newly formed bruises, ones that had clearly not been there that afternoon. A maternal-like instinct hit me, sending me into waves of nostalgia that I pushed aside(mysistersisTersiSTER).

"Naruto-kun, I got you soup," A small, sly smile quirked my lips upward, "Don't tell the old hag."

Walking over to his bed, I placed the soup into his hands before struggling to hoist myself up onto it. I ignored the look of shock on his face as he stared down at the soup before glancing back up at me as if to say, 'Really?' I nodded in affirmation, and he quickly began working on the bowl of soup as if someone was going to take it away any minute. Immediately, I felt a pang of regret over every thought I had had about leaving the kid to himself. When he finished, I quietly took the empty bowl and said a soft goodnight, going downstairs to deposit it into the sink.

The next few months followed the same tentative schedule. I would smuggle food to Naruto either during dinner or at night when I snuck downstairs to take little bits of the leftovers. He had gradually warmed up to me, beginning to call me 'Mai-chan' and having conversations with me while he ate.

Two years later and we had become inseparable when there were no caretakers around, which was increasingly often. They spent more time taking care of the smaller children and infants, while I had already turned five and Naruto's sixth birthday was that very night. It was a special day for all Konoha inhabitants, with the Kyuubi festival and all. Coincidentally, all the children but Naruto were taken out to enjoy the festival with the majority of the caretakers. It was that same night that we were finally caught in our little food smuggling act.

I had bought a few sticks of dango to take home and share with the almost obnoxiously cheerful blond. It was a nice contrast to the lonely kid I had remembered seeing in the manga, one who latched onto everyone who showed him the smallest signs of affection. It was a little sad to see how big of a difference having an actual friend had on him, though I prayed to every god out there that it didn't affect canon events too much.

I had just handed Naruto the rare sweet when the door slammed open.

Apparently the caretakers finally put two and two together and realized that it was suspicious that I was always getting skinnier, yet requesting more food while Naruto didn't look malnutritioned at all. Two years was an embarrassingly long time for me to have been sneaking under their noses like that. I wasn't surprised when I received a quick slap in the face. What I was surprised at, however, was the fact that the woman grabbed both mine and Naruto's arm and dragged us out of the room and downstairs. I first thought I'd have a public spanking or something, but instead was shoved out of the door with the blond, hearing it slam shut behind me. The entire time the woman screamed curses at us, calling me a helper of a demon and calling Naruto the demon himself.

I paled when I realized the true punishment the woman had inflicted on us. If it was any other night, Naruto and I would have been fine, but it was the six year anniversary of the Kyuubi's attack, a night where drunk villagers—both civilian and shinobi—sought out revenge in the form of beating a small child. That bitch had signed us both up for a public execution. Last year they had rallied around the orphanage, screaming for Naruto's head on a platter—this year they were pretty much handed him.

"Naruto. Run." I hissed while I grabbed his arm in a similar manner like the wretched woman had a few seconds ago. So much for being a nice, child loving caretaker.

"Mai-chan?" He asked, fear evident in his voice. He knew exactly just how much trouble we were both in. Though he was as afraid as I was, he followed my instructions and ran with me, trying to hide in the shadows of things to avoid anyone from noticing and then—oh shit.

"H-Hey! Isn't that the Kyuubi brat!" A drunk man slurred, alerting the entire crowd of people who were leaving the festival.

And that's when the real shit storm began. A mob began forming as the people realized what the intoxicated man had just shouted, looking around until their eyes targeted on us. The first thing that was thrown was a glass bottle, followed by a string of curses from the one who threw it.

I tugged on Naruto's arm again as we continued to run while being battered by miscellaneous items thrown from the civilians. The situation worsened when drunk shinobi got involved—the almost harmless things like twigs becoming replaced with kunai and shuriken. There were no ANBU in sight, and even if they had been immediately requested to help, there was no way they'd get there before more harm was inflicted upon the two of us. One ANBU was no match for a crowd of angry civilians that they had orders not to maim, kill, or injure in any way possible.

"Naruto! Run faster!" I screamed, terror seeping into my tone. Adult or child, both would be petrified with dozens if not hundreds of people chasing after them with the intent to kill. I pulled harder on his arm, pushing my small body to its limit, but a five year old and a six year old could never dream of escaping so many people so easily.

The first serious thing that hit me was a kunai, digging into the area a few inches from neck, four or five inches from my spine. It had probably been meant for Naruto, but I had began to shove the boy back and forth, trying to help him avoid any projectiles. I bit down a scream as we continued to run, trying to find some sort of adult that would help. I couldn't die here. I couldn't let Naruto die here. If I hadn't given him food, the caretaker would have never kicked us out into a murderous crowd like this, and I wouldn't have the guilt of dragging a young boy to his death on my chest. If he died, who would save Konoha from Gaara? Who would fight Pein off and talk him out of his plans? Who would retrieve Tsunade? Who would marry Hinata and save her from her clan?

"Mai!" He yelled, stopping his run completely as he noticed the kunai sticking out of my back. More scrapes and scratches covered both of our bodies—A result from the glass that had been carelessly flung and the other sharp objects that had managed to scrape us.

We were both panting uncontrollably, my eyes closing as I saw another kunai being flung at Naruto. I understand now what Sasuke had said about his body moving on its own. Naruto and his dreams were something you just naturally wanted to protect after meeting and getting along with him. It was just something so natural to do—jumping in front of sure death for the small boy. I clenched my fists as I waited for the blow to come, but mysteriously it never did. What did come, however, was the sound of metal clanging against metal, followed by a scream of pure agony.

"Oh. The ANBU are here." My knees buckled from underneath me.

* * *

Wrote this entire chapter in one go! I hope it's met your guys' expectations for the chapter. :) Thank you so much for the kind reviews. Also, feel free to point out any mistakes I've made, I'll be sure to fix them. Have a nice day guys!


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so happy about the nice reviews I've been getting so far! I'm really glad you guys are enjoying this story. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Edit: As of 8-9-16, this** **mess has been edited!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Pretending to be asleep was hard enough on its own. Even in a normal situation it was tiresome, trying to convince your eyelids to stop twitching. Pretending to be asleep in a room full of trained trackers was even harder―absurd, actually. I suppose they were pretending to be unaware of my conscious state out of pure respect for my ego, or maybe trying to give me time to rest after taking a kunai to the back.

To my right was the familiar, warm feeling of Naruto's chakra. I assumed he noticed my spike in chakra when I woke up due to the fact that he memorized what my own signature felt like after the first dozen or so times I fed him. Him recognizing who was and wasn't me made it a lot easier for us to sneak food around and not accidentally slip up and say something around the caretakers. His chakra was steady―omitting just as much as it usually did, letting me know that he got out of the mob unscathed. I would have breathed a sigh of relief if I wasn't still trying to pretend to be asleep.

To my left was the same chakra signature from the ANBU who had jumped in, though it struck me as rather odd for the man to stay even after we were safe. Then again, the glaringly potent chakra signature in front of me sort of told me exactly why the ANBU was still there. The Hokage always needed a personal guard, after all.

If I didn't know Naruto's little secret, I'd be completely bewildered over why someone so important would watch over two measly kids who got the shit beaten out of them. Contemplating on whether I should just open my eyes, Naruto's loud voice made that decision for me.

"We know that you're awake, Baka-chan!" A 'nyeh' sound came from the energetic blond, leading me to picture him sticking his tongue out at me. What a brat.

I groaned as I forced myself to sit up, drearily opening my eyes. I felt like complete shit, though I guess being stabbed could give someone that effect. The sun shined through the windows, giving me sign of it being the morning after that rather unpleasant attack. I blinked tiredly, trying to clear up my vision when I noticed something odd. The ANBU sitting to my left didn't have his mask on.

I swear I almost shit myself right then and there as I realized who I had just made eye contact with. Shisui Uchiha himself, future would-be savior of the Uchiha clan, if he hadn't been ambushed by a certain power-hungry idiot, was sitting beside my bed. His eyes lit up with a mischievous glint, showing the world his true lighthearted self. I couldn't tell if it was because he simply sucked at concealing his feeling(unlikely, considering he was in ANBU), or if he was just trying to get me to let my guard down. A conflicted decision between screaming or crying fought in my head before I compromised with a gasp and a whimper.

Befriending Naruto had already been too much of a risk. Now I was sitting in front of two of the few men who had strongly influenced the future that Naruto had helped sculpt. I seemed to be on a roll with messing serious shit up. One slip up could mean the end of the peaceful ending the blond had worked so hard to achieve.

The Hokage chuckled at my reaction while Shisui looked completely taken aback. He had probably been expecting confusion, not fear. I guess even the Uchiha had problems reading people sometimes.

"I didn't know you had a hobby of scaring children, Shisui-kun. What did you do to this one? Get her involved with one of you and Itachi's dango eating competitions?" The Third had a teasing smile on his face as Naruto scrunched his own up, trying to figure out the situation.

"What? Me?" Shisui faked a confused look. "You know all the dango stands in Konoha have banned both of us from entering at the same time."

"Jiji, why are you talking about dango stands, dattebayo? I thought Mai-chan was inca-incapa-" Naruto struggled to pronounce the word, making a face that seemed in between angry and/or constipated. Even at the age of six his tongue still felt uncomfortable and foreign when pronouncing things with more than three syllables.

"Incapacitated, Naruto-kun." An amused smile lingered on the Third's lips. I figured that at this point, he didn't bother to try to correct Naruto's informal way of addressing him, and judging by what Naruto called him in canon, he never bothered to try to change it later on either. That or Naruto was just stubborn as a mule(which was very true).

"Yeah! That word!" Naruto still looked genuinely concerned at their disregard for my situation, and I couldn't help but let a laugh betray my solemn mood. Only he could distract me from the fact that I might have irreparably fucked up the entire world's future. The Hokage acknowledged my laugh with a nod, making me flush in embarrassment. Laughing at one of his most favored people could put a damper on our friendship.

"Well, there's really no reason to keep her here any longer. The medic-nin already healed up your wound, Mai-chan, and you came in here with no wounds at all, Naruto-kun. By the way, being incapacitated just means she can't do hard things." A fond smiled danced on his lips as he looked at Naruto. It would have been a sweet moment if I hadn't had to question whether or not the smile was for Naruto or Naruto's father. That was yet another situation I didn't need to get myself into.

"Really?! Thank Kami! I hate hospitals, dattebayo!" The Third laughed whole heartedly, moving to put his hand on Naruto's head to signal that they still weren't done speaking.

"He's got a point, Hokage-sama." Shisui snickered at Naruto's distaste for the sterile, white rooms that he later ended up in more often than not. Maybe a dislike for hospitals was a ninja thing?

I didn't mind the rooms too much. They reminded me of something safe—clean.

"You're six as of yesterday, right Naruto?" Sarutobi spoke softly, but now there was something off at the way he manipulated his tone at the blond boy, as if he was trying to coerce him into doing something.

"Mhmm. I'm gonna become Hokage in a few years now, believe it!" He replied proudly, puffing his chest out a bit. God, that boy was unintentionally adorable sometimes.

"Naruto-kun, you can't become Hokage without becoming a genin first, you know," The Third's smile got larger, "The classes at the academy start in a few days. Would you like to go?"

If I had eaten the stick of dango from earlier, it would have all been thrown up by then. I suddenly felt sick to the core. I wanted to scream at the man, telling him, 'No, Naruto would not like to go. Please allow us to live our lives peacefully.' Sure, Naruto would have done it anyways, but he was still too young to understand what being a ninja really entailed. Sarutobi was emotionally extorting Naruto's childish dreams to turn him into a powerful asset for Konoha. It was manipulation at its finest form.

"Eh?! Really?!" Naruto exclaimed, confirming my worst fears before he took an unexpected pause, "Okay! But only if Mai-chan goes with me. She's always wanted to be a ninja too!"

Oh shit. Naruto still remembered what I said the first time we met? I was touched, really, I was. The fact that I had made such an impression in him was something good, but I certainly did not intend to actually become a ninja when I had only said those words to convince the genin caretakers to help me get rid of my boredom. I hadn't actually wanted to get into a life that was so dangerous and hazardous. Considering how many near-death experiences I've had, I'd end up dead before my second mission.

"N-No, Naruto-kun! It's fine, really! I don't need to become a ninja." A forced smile made its way to my face, but somehow Naruto seemed to misinterpret that in the worst was possible too.

"Jiji! Mai-chan's just being shy, dattebayo. Please can she go with me? Please?" He begged, putting on the most innocent and pleading face possible as he stared at the Third. Sarutobi seemed to regard it as something amusing and shook his head in disbelief at how much Naruto was begging. Naruto had never been one to actually ask for something.

"Alright," He replied, giving me no room to decline any further.

Naruto 'whooped' in joy while Sarutobi turned to me.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Mai-chan. I already have Naruto-kun's information to fill out for the application, but I don't know yours. Your full name?" He asked.

My line of sight avoided direct contact with his as I tried to think of a normal way to tell him that I didn't have a last name without giving away that I was a whore's daughter. Civilian children rarely had mothers who gave birth without knowing the last name of the father. This conversation was embarrassing no matter how many times I've had to repeat it.

"I don't have one." I settled for the blunt yet innocent way to state it. Maybe if he thought I didn't know about my heritage, he just wouldn't bring it up.

"Mm, I see." His eyebrows furrowed, "Your age then?"

"Five." The questions didn't seem too intruding yet.

"A year younger than Naruto-kun. That's a good enough age to enter the academy. Shisui-kun, maybe it's my own age at work here, but I seem to have forgotten what exactly the application asks for. Can you ask Mai-chan?"

The Uchiha took over Sarutobi's interrogation by request and took a second to think over what he had once filled out on the sheet.

"Your address? Or can I just assume you live in the same place as Naruto-kun?" I blinked at the question. Had the Hokage not known how Naruto and I ended in the way of the mob? Had he just assumed we were both idiots who stepped outside to celebrate the festival with our fellow Konohans? It was almost insulting.

"We don't have one anymore. The mean lady kicked us out. That's why we were with the bad people." I tried to phrase it in a childlike way, but even if I hadn't I doubt neither the Hokage or Shisui would notice. They would have been too preoccupied with comprehending what I said, considering how dark their faces seemed to get when I revealed the information.

"I see. I'll talk to Mitsuki-san." The Sandaime said grimly, nodding towards Shisui. For some reason, I doubted he really intended to have a pleasant chat with the woman. Hah. Karma struck again. The woman deserved whatever she was going to get.

"That was her name?" Naruto asked incredulously. Huh. I hadn't known her name either, and I had been there even longer than him.

"Jiji! Where are we staying? I don't wanna go back tothe old lady. She never gives me food." I winced at Naruto's last sentence. We seemed to be digging Mitsuki a deeper grave with each word we spoke. The Hokage opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

"They can stay at my old apartment, the one outside of the Uchiha compound. I can keep an eye on them there." Shisui gave his input before the Hokage got the chance to give his suggestions, giving the Third a sheepish smile at his mild offense of disrespect.

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least this way, Naruto and I wouldn't end up living with the Hokage or worse—living on our own. I could barely give him enough food at the orphanage. It was odd though. Shisui had an apartment of his own? He couldn't have been more than fifteen. I hadn't lived on my own until I was eighteen in my past life.

My relief was short lived though, as I realized that living with one Uchiha was the same as living with them all. With every action I made, it seemed the storyline would only end up more and more skewed.

"That would be acceptable. Shisui-kin, do you mind sponsoring the two in the academy too? The counsel won't let me sponsor any students on my own. They're trying to argue that it's biased of me." Sarutobi scoffed.

"Sure. I can do that. Should I take them to the apartment now?" He asked.

The two hadn't glanced at Naruto and I at all during the transaction, giving us no say in what they were going to do with our own lives. If I had been a little less sane and a little more daring, I might have tried to protest against the two S-class nins. Unfortunately, I was neither.

"That would be preferable. I'll go down and sign the two out," Sarutobi finally turned back towards Naruto and I, "Naruto, I hope you behave for Shisui-kun, and Mai-chan, please continue taking care of Naruto." He got up and shunshin'ed out, leaving a trail of swirling leaves behind while Naruto visibly tensed to my right.

The Uchiha turned towards us with a playful smile on his face, somehow getting Naruto to put his guard down. From what I remembered, the two hadn't met at all in canon, though it was thoroughly possible for Shisui to have been one of Naruto's multiple ANBU guards. His guards only went off duty the night of the Kyuubi festival, a village-wide festival when the Hokage let all but his personal ANBU guards have the day off. If only he had had the foresight to see that that night would be one of the few nights that Naruto needed his guards most.

"Well, I guess you guys are stuck with me for a bit. I think the Hokage should be done signing you guys out now. I have to go pay a visit with my cute little Itachi-kun, so let's go!" He laughed as he walked out the door, leaving both me and Naruto stunned at how well he was taking everything.

He popped his head back into view as he noticed we weren't following behind, "You guys know you're supposed to be following me, right? If I was going to see Itachi-kun alone, I'd just do my shunshin."

Hesitantly I got out of the bed while Naruto stood still, wide eyed. It was then that it clicked. This was probably the first person who was kind to Naruto besides the two at Ichiraku, the Hokage, and myself.

"Come on, Naruto-kun." I grabbed his wrist and tugged after the direction Shisui went in, pushing aside my disbelief at how smoothly everything had gone and how willingly I was walking towards a guy who'd end up dead in the next year.

The stares we got as we stepped out of the room and into the hospital were disheartening, to say the least.

"That's the girl who stood up for the Kyuubi brat." A nurse whispered, though not doing a very good job at concealing it.

"Why is an Uchiha with the demon? Weren't they the ones who released the thing in the first place?" Another one hissed back, glaring daggers at the entire group.

Shisui reached out and placed one hand on my head and the other on Naruto's, separating us as he began to walk between us. He gave a pleasant smile towards the gossiping nurses, shutting them up completely. I had never been more grateful for Naruto's lack of ability to connect the dots on the people calling him the Kyuubi. If he had figured it out, it would have been easy for him to search up what a jinchuuriki is, and that was something that would most certainly break the poor boy.

We silently made our way down the steps towards the check out, not bothering to acknowledge the accumulated stares we got. Even the secretary at the front desk seemed to be wearily eyeing Naruto, though chose not to insult him to his face. I let out a weary sigh. If it was that bad inside of the hospital, how bad would the backlash be when we stepped outside?

I didn't need to wait long for my answer, as the second we stepped out, a stone was thrown our way. It was the first in a string of many that only stopped when Shisui turned towards the sources. I could only imagine the look he was giving them at that moment. I took that opportunity to fully observe the young boy, taking in how his frame looked rather fragile. Staying true to the manga, his eyelashes were long and defined, giving him an almost feminine look that sharply contrasted his chiseled jaw line. Even as a teenager he stood tall compared to what had been the average in my old world—maybe 5'7—and completely towered over Naruto and I.

The whispers began to quiet down the longer we walked, the civilians eventually losing interest. One can only gossip about something for so long until they got sick and tired of the subject. While the noises got more subtle, the stares continued to rest on our backs.

"Eh! Wait... Isn't teme an Uchiha? Is that where we're going?" Naruto interrupted the awkward silence, easing the tension that had building up during the short walk.

We had traveled for no more than ten minutes, arriving at the gates to the semi-crowded place. There were various businesses in the district, a lot of them being run by the elderly. My heart tugged as I realized all of them would end up dead by next year.

"If you're talking about my cute little cousin, Sasuke-kun, then yes!" Shisui chirped happily as we began to walk through the district.

"Shisui!" A high-pitched, childish voice exclaimed, causing me to freeze in my spot.

Oh shit. Oh shit. That was a voice that only belonged to one child in the anime. I turned my head around before looking downwards to see the little kid running towards us.

Low and behold—a younger, happier Sasuke Uchiha was rushing directly at us, eyes set on the older Uchiha. I almost ran away from the scene myself when I realized how much more I could screw over everyone if I met the entire main cast and became a notable presence in their life. Was Fate not done forcing me into these situations yet? I quickly recollected myself, turning to glance at Shisui's reaction and being surprised by the small hint of sadness on his face. For a second I was confused, not understanding why anyone would be saddened by a small child being so elated at seeing them.

Oh yeah. The coup. Yeah, knowing that the aforementioned kid in front of you might end up dead did put a downer on things. I averted my gaze towards Naruto, who had begun to scowl at Sasuke. Had their rivalry already begun?

"Sasuke-kun! I haven't seen you in a week! Have you seen Itachi-kun?" Shisui seemed to force a laugh as he bent down and caught Sasuke.

Sasuke was visibly upset at the mention of Itachi's name.

"Nii-san just finished talking to Okaa-san and Tou-san! He said he would teach me about kunai today but he didn't take me to the training grounds yet!" Sasuke whined, frowning while Shisui put on a thoughtful look.

"Is that so? Let's go find your nii-san and make him train with us then!" Shisui playfully suggested, instantly cheering Sasuke up. Were all these kids just incredibly cute?

"There's no need for that." A monotonous voice came from behind us, startling everyone but Shisui.

Naruto jumped as I whimpered at the person intruding our conversation. I didn't even need to turn around to know who the person was—Sasuke's reaction was enough of a give away. He jumped out of Shisui's arms and ran towards the source, a large smile on his face.

"That's teme's brother?!" Naruto half-whispered, half-yelled as he caught sight of him.

I nodded and winced as I reluctantly turned around. In a span of an hour I had already met four more people who were key characters to the show. One more and I might've had a heart attack right there and then.

In front of me stood none other than Itachi Uchiha. While he had ended up being one of the better people in the end, the fact that he still murdered most of his family stuck with me. I'm sure he was a nice guy, though not completely sane. No one with even the smallest amount of sanity would immediately decide that fucking up their little brother's brain was better than taking the time to make his brother as well-adjusted as possible. As much of a genius as he was noted to be, his plan had been flawed through and through.

My heart decided to warm up to him though, as he affectionately poked Sasuke's forehead before the boy could make full contact with him. While Sasuke looked incredibly annoyed, Shisui and Itachi just laughed fondly. If the massacre was set to happen some time next year, then the Itachi in front of me couldn't have been older than twelve. His personality now starkly contrasted the cold, distant one he seemed to have while in the Akatsuki. It was a pity that someone who seemed to have been thought of as gentle and loyal had to live through life sacrificing all that he had for the sake of others.

It was then that I noticed Naruto's unusual silence. Another pang of sympathy hit my heart as I realized he was probably feeling the bitter feelings of jealousy for the first time. All throughout his life he had been denied any sort of family, and now there they were flaunting their familial bond in front of him. I reached out to gently touch his arm, giving him a soft smile.

"Good thing I have you as a brother, Naruto-kun."

"Y-Yeah! And you're like my sister too, Mai-chan." He stuttered out of shock, though recovered enough to reply back properly. I grinned at him, not noticing the odd look that the older teens there began giving me.

"And who's this?" Itachi questioned, making eye contact with me before I could look away.

"This," Shisui pointed towards the blond next to me first, "is Naruto-kun, and this," He pointed towards me now, "Is little Mai-chan. The Hokage put me in charge of them, so technically these little midgets are mine."

"I see. I apologize for the trauma you two will go through." Itachi replied, shocking me. Was that a joke?

"What? That's cruel. You should have more faith in me, Itachi-kun," Shisui paused to pout, "Speaking of these kids, I've gotta get them to my apartment and help them settle in. I just came to make sure that you're going to the meeting tonight."

"Hn." The stoic boy replied as his farewell, suddenly disinterested in what Shisui had to say. I could only guess that the meeting was about the soon-to-happen coup.

A compulsive shiver ran through my spine as I glanced around the compound again, yet I couldn't bring myself to speak up about the events that were soon to come. Speaking about something that was supposed to be handled with the utmost secrecy would have the entire Uchiha clan sure of there being a leak, and an investigation about a leak would only expose more spies. I wasn't stupid enough to think I could stop a coup by myself, especially when the hatred between the Uchihas and the rest of Konoha ran through generations upon generations of bad blood. It was useless to try to stop it. I set my lips in a tight line as Shisui grasped our wrists again, leading us back out of the compound.

"Sorry about Itachi-kun's attitude. He'll warm up to you guys in a bit," He gave a reassuring smile towards Naruto and I. It didn't do anything to ease with my anxiety, though seemed to have a mild effect on Naruto.

"Where are we going now?" the blond asked, not recognizing the streets we were beginning to walk into.

The number of people who were outside began to decline as we stepped into what seemed to be a more quiet neighborhood.

"This," He gestured towards a row of apartments, "is one of the various shinobi housing districts. You kids might end up living here permanently if you guys become ninjas."

"What makes it a housing district for shinobi?" I asked curiously, not being able to hold in my question.

"It's mostly only called that because most of the residents here are shinobi or at least were at one point. The security is a lot tighter over here, and the neighborhood tends to be quiet most of the time. A lot of the people who own apartments here are on active duty and only use their place to rest in between missions." He replied cheerfully, not missing beat to think about the answer he was giving.

He stepped into the main district itself, the noise from the village suddenly becoming mute. Naruto looked around incredulously, while I tried to find the source of whatever genjutsu or seal that was keeping the place so serene.

"My apartment's that one right there. The third one in. It's super close to the barrier so you won't get lost when you try to make your way to the academy." He spoke thoughtfully as he glanced at his own home.

I cautiously took a step forward, accepting whatever was happening.

Things just got a whole lot more complicated.

* * *

 **A/N: As I stated before, thank you for all the positivity I've been getting. You guys have no idea how much all your favorites, follows, and reviews mean to me. Yay! All the main characters I've had planned so far have entered the story. I hope I've written Shisui okay, but feel free to give me criticism and pointers on how I should handle his character. Do you guys like little Mai so far?**

 **Again, please don't forget to review! Your comments mean the world to me.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

It was in Shisui's small apartment that Naruto and I found our first home. It was a well kept place, though that may have been due to the fact that Shisui was rarely home in between missions anyways(something we'd find out in a few months). The walls were painted a smooth beige, giving it a sophisticated feel, if not a little bland.

Shisui had seemed embarrassed when he opened the door for us, scratching his head and apologizing for the emptiness of it all. There was one couch pressed against the wall, a dusty television across from it, and an equally dusty rug between the two. To the right of the couch was the open kitchen, a small lamp on a counter to light up the cooking space. To the left of the couch was a a short hallway that lead to two doors, one presumably to a bathroom and the other to a bedroom. It wasn't the most colorful and unique of homes, but it was enough.

"Whoa... This place is so much bigger than my room, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, eyes wide as he surveyed his surroundings.

I let out a sigh, realizing that I had compared the apartment's furnishings to one of an average room back in the old world. Of course ninjas wouldn't spend time trying to find the perfect color palette for their home when most of the time they were hundreds of miles away from the village. If anything, the apartment was well furnished to shinobi standards―most wouldn't even have a TV to keep them entertained between missions.

Shisui laughed at Naruto's reaction, the blond returning to his usual self after having seemed to get over his awe at another person who was actually civil to him. It was a miracle that he wasn't jumpy around strangers all of the time after the abuse Mitsuki and the rest of the village had put him through. I'd never understand why so many people failed to realize that if Naruto was possessed by an all powerful chakra mass, they'd probably end up dead long before they spit out whatever insult that was on the tip of their tongue.

"I can't really give you guys a house tour when you can see the entire place with one look," He paused to laugh at his own jab, "but I have a clan meeting to go to tonight and we sorta need to figure out who's sleeping where before I trip on you guys when I get home. I don't wanna land you guys in the hospital again," he laughed.

"Where do we sleep then?" Naruto beat me to the question, throwing a smirk towards me when he realized it.

"There's a bed in the bedroom, a futon in the closet next to my bed that you guys can pull out, and the couch," Shisui replied, counting off the places that we could use to sleep with his fingers.

Naruto and I glanced at each other, coming to what was supposed to be a mutual agreement.

"I'll take the couch," we said in unison, looking at each other incredulously when we realized that our 'mutual decision' hadn't been mutual at all.

"Eh?! No way Mai-chan! The futon's more comfortable!" He argued, glaring at me.

"But you're like my little brother! I can't make you sleep on the couch!" I countered, reciprocating his now annoyed look.

"I'm older than you!" He stuck out his tongue, throwing proper reasoning out the door as he replied with an unbelievably(or rather very believable) childish act. If I was any lesser of a patient person, I would have probably told him I was actually decades older than him at that moment.

Shisui laughed at our bickering as he bent over to reach our eye level.

"I could always take the couch for―"

"No!" Naruto and I chorused, startling the Uchiha and redirecting our looks at him instead. Even in a five year old body I still had enough sense to not make the owner of the home sleep on the couch. I guess my chivalry rubbed off an Naruto throughout the years of living together.

"Okay! Okay! How about we decide in a rock paper scissors game instead?" Shisui suggested, waving his arms in surrender.

Needless to say I won. Naruto hadn't quite figured out that everyone always chose scissors yet, and I still had no intentions to teach him that lesson.

As Shisui left to go back to the compound and Naruto grudgingly went into the bedroom to set up the futon, I immediately let out a sigh of relief. The couch wasn't exactly the most comfortable of resting places, but it was enough. We had eaten dinner a few hours before he left, none of us speaking to each other to avoid the topic of the murderous civilian mob. It was unsettling to see a kid that I had usually had to calm down for so long be solemnly silent.

Shisui hadn't had the foresight(and who would?) to buy groceries in advanced, choosing instead to give us instant ramen with another sheepish grin before promising to drop by the market the next morning before he dropped us off at the academy.

It was eerie―being alone again when I had spent what felt like an eternity surrounded by at least one person. In reality it had only been a couple days, but the peace and tranquility was welcomed with open arms. I had no time to sleep. The official academy lessons would start in two weeks, though the preview of what that year's curriculum would be would start tomorrow. I wanted to just become a loner at the academy, I really did. After all, I had already gotten involved with enough things to mess up the future. I would have gladly stuck with my first plan if I hadn't already felt pity for Naruto. I couldn't let him go through the academy alone again, especially if he already had me. I was so entranced in my thoughts that I hadn't even noticed Shisui coming home until the door slammed shut, startling me. He came home looking tired and wary, a bag of something in his hand as he glanced at me.

He didn't say anything about my apparent insomnia(as that was typical in most shinobi), though offered a raised eyebrow in an attempt to act like a regular adult and not a fully trained psychopathic killer. I waited for some sort of joke from him, but all I got was a slight chuckle and a shake of the head before he walked into his bedroom, this time taking care to quietly shut the door.

The next morning he woke up Naruto first, assuming that I was already awake. Naruto made his awakening nice and clear when he let out a loud whine that carried through the hallway and into my ear, inducing a laugh from me. Waking him up had been a chore the caretakers had always asked me to do, knowing that I was one of the few patient enough to not choke him to shut him up. His wake-up-wail was something that made a cat's yowl seem like a singing angel.

His morning cry got a startled shriek from Shisui, doubling the amount of laughter that was already coming from me.

"Mai-chan! Why didn't you tell me about that?!" Shisui exclaimed, faking outrage.

"Sorry," I replied back with a halfhearted apology.

"Yeah, yeah. And I even stopped by the orphanage to pick up your guys' clothes for today. Ungrateful brats," he muttered playfully, shaking his head in disapproval.

That had surprised me, though it did explain the bag that he had been carrying the night before. It was incredibly thoughtful of him to have taken the initiative to grab our stuff without us having to be there. Though later in life I would entertain myself with thinking of scenarios that could have happened if Naruto and I had gone.

"You're like fifteen! You're only–" Naruto paused to calculate the difference in age, "–nine years older than me! You can't call me a brat," Naruto protested in utter disbelief at his comment.

"Fifteen and ANBU. You're six and going to the academy orientation," he said flatly, grabbing the bag of clothing and tossing the boy's signature orange jacket to him.

Naruto huffed before brightening up at the mention of the academy, grabbing his jacket and throwing it on immediately.

"Come on, Mai-chan! Hurry up! We have to go to the academy today!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the bag of clothing to hurry up my process of getting ready.

I almost snorted in disbelief. Naruto had always been the one who took forever to get ready, and yet he was the one trying to hurry me up. I didn't even get a say in whether or not I wanted to become a shinobi for the damn village. I would be lying if I said that I hadn't thought about how much simpler it would have been for me to be reborn in Suna(then again, if I had been reborn in Suna, Fate might have pushed me towards Gaara anyways, and I'd end up dead before anything).

"Fine," I replied reluctantly, resigning to my eventual demise(whether it be due to me being killed in a battle or having an aneurysm from the stress).

I grabbed the bag and pulled out the first piece of fabric my hands touched. There wasn't really much diversity in my clothing in the first place, though the one I chose was interesting, to say the least. It had been a kimono anonymously given to me a few years after I began to look after Naruto. It would have been useless in any other setting outside of diplomatic reasons(and even then it was too plain for serious matters), so I had asked one of the kunoichis to help me tailor it to something more wearable. Now it was a much shorter kimono, reaching mid thigh area. The fabric was a light pink color, durable as most clothing was in the shinobi world. Navy blue strips of fabric outlined the sleeves and the collar, giving it a more complex appearance.

I put my hand in the bag again while both Naruto and Shisui looked away, embarrassed at seeing me shift through female-oriented clothing. It was odd seeing people who would grow up to be so powerful be flustered at something so trivial to me. I chose not to laugh at there discomfort and simply pulled out short leggings that cut off at a couple inches above the knee and socks that cut off a few inches below the knee.

After both Naruto and I were changed(though it was more me than Naruto, since all he had to do was throw on his jacket), we headed off to the academy, Naruto skipping happily while I grimaced at all the possible outcomes of the day.

I could either let Naruto continue on the path that had originally been chosen and have him hate me for abandoning him with the hateful glares of the villagers and his fellow classmates but know that everything would turn out all right _or_ , I could help him integrate himself into a new friendship circle and greatly better his life at the academy, yet at the same time possibly disrupting the lessons that he was supposed to learn about socializing with others and through that, mess up the situation even more.

I sighed, earning a questioning look from the older Uchiha, but chose not to elaborate on why I seemed so tired at the beginning of the day. It was obvious the only option I could choose was to help Naruto befriend everyone. I wasn't cruel enough to knowingly let him suffer for years to come when I know exactly how to stop it and who to get him to associate with.

As we arrived at the academy I realized one thing.

This was going to be a really long day.

* * *

 **Hey guys! sorry for the delay in the chapter! Some things came up and I only just finished editing it five minutes ago. It's fairly short, but the next chapter will probably be up in five-ish days and be much longer so don't worry guys! Thank you for reading and review. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh my god guys, I am so so so so SO sorry for not updating in so long, especially after promising that I would. Thank you to everyone who's still here. I've had a pretty rough year, but that is certainly not a viable excuse for abandoning my own writing for so long. I think my writing style has changed quite a bit, and I apologize for that, but hopefully it's changed for the better. Again, thank you for waiting so patiently. I'm so ready to make this up to you guys. Enjoy!  
**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

The first person who greeted us at the academy was, strangely enough, Sasuke, though he did seem to do so quite reluctantly.

"Onii-san and Shisui-san told me to stay with you guys for today," he half-whined, giving a pout that'd give the cuteness factor of Naruto's whiskers a run for their money.

"H-Hello. I'm Mai, and this is Naruto-kun," I stuttered, not able to conceal the fact that I was scared shitless of messing up the timeline.

"I already met the dobe, and I saw you yesterday, but nice to meet you, Mai-chan." He awkwardly stuck out a hand for me to shake, and blushed as I did so. I couldn't contain myself—I giggled at the uncharacteristically flustered Uchiha boy. Maybe this wasn't so scary after all.

"W-What's so funny?"

Before I could answer, Naruto interjected. "Don't call me dobe, teme!" He scowled at the now-glowering boy.

"Don't call me teme, dobe!" Sasuke repeated.

"Kids! Please come to the front of the building. We're about to start orientation!" a voice announced, immediately catching the attention of the two bickering boys. One glance was all it took for the two of them to come to a mutual understanding, and before I could even comprehend what was going on, the two took off in a race towards the voice. For a pair of kids who claimed to despise each other, they really were on the same wavelength.

I, on the other hand, chose to preserve my energy and walk at a leisurely pace.

"You think running is too troublesome too?" a voice behind me commented, startling me. The drawling way the words were spoken made it fairly obvious who I'd see when I turned around, and so, I, while throwing away every sense of self-preservation I had left, plastered a grin on my face and turned to face Shikamaru.

"Yep. Naruto-kun has way too much energy for me to keep up with," I said the words fondly, seeing a glimpse of the orange-clad boy off in the distance.

"You can say that again."

"Shikamaru! They're giving out chips to everyone who's lining up! Let's go!" Another voice entered the conversation. Only one person would get that excited over a small bag of food that wouldn't even sustain a person for more than a few minutes. It seemed that Fate _really_ wanted me to run into everyone all at once.

"Ah, wait, can I come with you guys? I think Naruto-kun is still arguing with Sasuke-kun," I called out to the pair before they could walk off.

They glanced at each other before answering unanimously. "Sure."

We walked slowly towards the gathering group of children, none of us really looking forward to entering the fray, though for completely different reasons. Shikamaru and Choji were probably trying to avoid it out of sheer laziness, while I was dreading it due to a very viable fear of ruining a universe that had gotten its shit together rather nicely towards the end.

"I'm Mai," I hesitantly introduced myself after an incredibly long period of walking silence with the duo.

"Choji," the one furthest from me chimed in during a pause in his chewing.

"Shikamaru."

"So why are you guys here? Besides the obvious reason, of course," I made a feeble attempt at clearing the awkward air that had accumulated around us.

"It'd be too troublesome if I didn't. Me becoming a shinobi—that's all Mom and Dad talk about," Shikamaru offered his reasoning first, then gestured towards Choji for him to speak.

"Become a shinobi is something that kinda runs in the family," Choji laughed. "What about you, Mai-chan?"

"I'm just here for Naruto-kun. I'm a year younger than you guys, but Hokage-sama wanted me to stay with Naruto-kun, cause we grew up together and all," I half-lied.

Speak of the devil.

"Mai-chan! Who are they?" Naruto called out, rushing towards me while holding onto Sasuke's wrist and dragging him along. That was a surprise—I was sure Naruto would've ditched the Uchiha if given the chance, and I was equally as certain about Sasuke not having minded too much if Naruto did.

I barely flinched as Naruto barreled into me—too used to the blond's impulsive acts of affection.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, meet Shikamaru-kun and Choji-kun."

"Nice to meet you guys! I'm Naruto, and I'm gonna be the next Hokage, dattebayo!" He shot a wide grin at the two newcomers to our quickly growing group, elated at the prospect of finally having friends around his own age.

I prayed to every god out there that they wouldn't leave the moment many of their parents would tell them to.

We had made it to the main gathering of children, and at the front, multiple instructors stood in a line, greeting the children who were near them. The atmosphere was lovely—until I caught sight of him. Mizuki-sensei—the one character that I have completely and utterly despised since the dawn of my childhood. From a distance, he was smiling at other kids, pleasantly waving at them as they shuffled past him.

Then he saw us.

Immediately his expression shifted, going from a kind instructor to a rather villainous character.

He gestured at two of us—Shikamaru and Choji—to come over, glancing warily at Naruto and I while disregarding Sasuke completely.

The hatred for those associated with the Kyuubi attack ran strong throughout Konoha, and without Sasuke's title of the last Uchiha, he too was grouped with those who supposedly destroyed the village. It was pathetic.

"... best for the two of you to stay away from people like them." I strained my ears to listen in on a lecture resulting from Mizuki's blind hatred of Naruto.

My heart sank as I waited for Choji and Shikamaru's answer. Sure, they had turned out to be amazing people in the end, but that was after years of growing up with and befriending Naruto. They were never warned to stay away from him at the very beginning of the friendship, and by all means this was the most crucial stage. I couldn't even blame them if their opinions on us did waver.

Thankfully, my fears were short lived.

"Staying away from them on purpose is too troublesome," Shikamaru rolled his eyes, stepping away from a stunned Mizuki to walk back towards us.

"Why would I stay away from nice people?" Choji asked in a pleasant tone, following Shikamaru's footsteps and leaving Mizuki seething.

"Eh? What did sensei want?" Naruto curiously asked the two when they reentered the circle.

I looked pleadingly at Shikamaru, sending mental messages towards the kid telling him to not say a thing. Evidently, he got the message(probably out of common sense and not my attempts at telepathy, but you know, whatever works), and just shook his head, mumbling about it being too troublesome. Sasuke, on the other hand, was oddly quiet, having grown used to the stigma that surrounded the Uchiha name after the Kyuubi attack.

I felt sick at his reaction.

How could the village treat children so coldly?

Before my view on Konoha could diminish any further, the instructors finally began to talk, warmly welcoming us into the academy. They continued with a long speech about proper conduct, going through how the first two weeks would be a short run-through of the curriculum and introducing each sensei to the group. Already I could make out the original Rookie Nine—Sakura and Ino gazing at our group(specifically Sasuke) from a distance, while Hinata, Kiba, and Shino made up their own small cluster. Every once in a while, Hinata's gaze would drift to Naruto before she'd blush and snap back to whatever conversation she was having.

I couldn't contain the smile that graced my lips; knowing that the two would eventually end up together(as long as I didn't fuck up the future too much with my presence) made the scene all the more sweeter.

The rest of that day was uneventful—filled with more excessively lengthy explanations that might have been good for children, but were absolutely rubbish for a twenty-something year old trapped in a five year old's body. Too often I found myself zoning out, only to be shaken back into reality by a beaming Naruto.

At the end of the dragging orientation, Shikamaru and Choji waved goodbye to us, sending Naruto into another joyous mood as he excitedly waved back. I'm not sure if I was imagining things, but I'm fairly certain a small smile had made its way onto the infamously monotonous Shikamaru's face too. Sasuke was the next(and the last) of the group to go, mumbling something about Itachi having to train him today. My heart felt a little twinge at that—knowing all too well the events that would occur in less than a year's time.

Slowly, the number of children waiting to be picked up dwindled, and eventually, the only people left standing outside of the academy were Naruto and I.

I sighed.

"Naruto, you up for a walk home?" I asked out of courtesy, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah," he replied, the disappointment scarcely disguised in his voice. Being picked up by someone probably meant a lot more to him than it did to me.

I threw an arm around his shoulder, pushing him down before using my free hand to ruffle up his hair. He was really too cute for his own good. "Cheer up, and I'll convince Shisui to buy us some ramen at Ichiraku's, okay?"

"Okay!" He sent me a glare over my display of affection before perking up at my promise—the change so drastic it sent me into a fit a laughter before we started our walk.

The stroll home was normal enough, filled with Naruto excitedly talking about the day despite me having been there with him the entire time. Was was strange, however, was what we saw as we neared the home.

The door was seen left slightly ajar as we approached it—something that usually wasn't a good sign in a neighborhood of trained killers. Most of them had to be more careful than that, right?

Of course, I had forgotten that the specific shinobi we were living with was a fairly young kid in his own right, and was probably a lot more confident in his own ability to protect the apartment than in the flimsy door that even I could've kicked open(in my past life, obviously).

Thankfully, nothing too malicious awaited our arrival. In fact, the sight we were greeted with was so innocent and pure that I wish I had had a camera to document it. Sprawled on the ground was a napping Shisui, and, accompanying him on the floor were five bags of groceries. Clearly he had fallen asleep upon getting home from the supermarket—probably overwhelmed by the ferocity of mere civilians during limited sales. Even ANBU were no match for bedraggled, middle-aged moms desperate to feed their growing children(who also doubled as black holes).

I, while overwhelmed with how wholesome the scene had looked, made the mistake of trying to drape the blanket from the couch onto the napping boy, forgetting that he could kill me in a thousand different ways. The second the edge of the blanket touched Shisui, he disappeared, and suddenly I was pressed against a wall, the edge of a kunai drawing blood from my neck while I stared down distinctive design of his Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Shi...sui?" I croaked, genuinely fearing for my (second) life.

"Shisui! Baka, what are you doing to Mai-chan?!" Naruto exclaimed, running up to the Uchiha and kicking him in the leg.

"Mai?" he asked, completely disoriented from the sudden awakening.

Upon recognition, he immediately pulled back the kunai and gently moved me back onto the ground, his eyes shifting to their original black color. "Shit! Mai, I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

I instinctively nodded—used to reassuring others that they hadn't hurt me, as I often had to do with Naruto back in the orphanage, and raised my hand to touch the cut on my neck. It felt wet, and the sinking feeling in my stomach told me that it wasn't water that was making its way down my throat and towards my clothes. Adult mind be damned, I couldn't stop the involuntary whimper that escaped my lips.

"Shit, Naruto, can you get the first aid kit? It's in my room, in the closet," he directed the blond before addressing me, "Mai, can I see it?"

I warily nodded, lowering my hand while Shisui knelt down.

He examined it carefully, almost getting uncomfortably close to the wound before sighing in relief. "It's not deep, just a flesh wound. We just have to bandage it up and it should heal alright. Thank god it wasn't one of my poisoned-dipped kunai," he muttered the last part to himself, but nonetheless I overheard it.

I blanched.

I _definitely_ almost died right there.

At that moment Naruto came running in, first aid kit in hand as he hurriedly ran over to us. Shisui moved swiftly, popping open the box and reaching for the bandages without even having to look for them. He had done this far too often. His touch was gentle as he applied slight pressure on the wound, tightly wrapping it to where it was enough to stop the bleeding, but not to where it was suffocating me.

"Thanks," I said softly as he finished, too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

"Well, I couldn't exactly let you die after being the one to cut you," he joked halfheartedly, the usual comfortable mood restored as he stood back up and yawned. "Why are you guys back so early anyways?"

Naruto and I exchanged multiple glances, mentally insisting that the other should tell him. Eventually, I won our battle and guilted him into doing it with a wave towards the freshly bandaged wound.

"Shisui-san, it's six," he said matter-of-factly.

"What." His response wasn't a question.

"You're... kinda late," I added, not helping his ego one bit.

He didn't reply with more than a mumble, choosing instead to move on as if he hadn't made a blunder. He picked up the various groceries and brought them into the kitchen, rummaging through them to find ingredients to start on dinner.

It was hopeless.

He was hopeless.

"Um... Shisui-san, I know how to cook... Can I just do it?" I offered, not waiting for a reply before picking out my own ingredients. He looked more lost than I did on my first day in the Naruto universe.

He seemed torn between saying yes and letting the kid he just almost killed cook him dinner, or saying no and potentially poisoning both kids in his care anyways.

"Seriously, please let me do it." I deadpanned.

He mumbled something about accidentally becoming a slavedriver before walking towards his room, presumably to take a much-needed nap. While Shisui disappeared, Naruto took his place, his usual hyper attitude restored as the threat to my immediate health vanished.

"Mai-chan, whatcha making?" he asked, eager to make conversation.

"We don't have that much time." Bandaging me up took quite awhile. It was almost seven. "Is miso soup alright? I promise I'll make something more complicated tomorrow."

"I like Mai-chan's miso soup."

I smiled, taking that as a yes. The stove was comically hard for me to reach, but that issue was solved with the discovery of an old step stool—one probably belonging to a previous tenant, as I can't imagine any need for Shisui to use one. (He was tall enough as it is.)

Half an hour later and the table was neatly set up(courtesy of the oddly calm Naruto). Shisui had quietly shuffled out his room, still looking tired but significantly less so as he took a seat. He stared at my bandages apologetically, though any attempt at verbally addressing the incident was silenced by an unnerving poker face.

"So, how do you guys feel about the academy?" he asked, attempting to clear away the tension.

Evidently, it worked, because at the mention of anything having to do with become a ninja, Naruto would gladly talk your ear off, filling the silence with the excited ramblings of an ambitious kid.

Sitting there—eating warm soup and listening to the kid talk and seeing Shisui attentively listen—I realized it.

I couldn't let Shisui die.

* * *

 **Ahh Mai's starting to progress in terms of wanting to make a change to the plot. Again, I'm so sorry about the delay. Please feel free to tell me when and if I'm screwing up certain characters. I love all critiques, especially if they help improve my writing.**

 **Be sure to review(and yell at me about how awful I am for making you guys wait so long)! Have the best, most wonderful day ever guys.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for all the kind reviews, and for not dragging me too hard for that awful hiatus. Please read the author's note down at the bottom!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Despite my sudden resolve towards keeping the only pure hearted adult around us alive, not much changed for the remaining week-and-four-days of orientation.

Sakura, Ino, and Hinata continued to stare at their respective crushes—the first two bickering about it every once in awhile, while the latter would shyly try to play it off whenever she was caught. Shikamaru and Choji stuck with us, keeping up their cold attitudes towards Mizuki-sensei whenever he neared the group. It was quite endearing to see them standing up to the needless exile that Naruto and Sasuke were consistently subjected to. Shisui kept up the apologetic glances, never arriving late to pick us up again, much to Naruto's delight.

Then the ripples in the timeline started to form.

It happened during our first real day at the Academy—what possibly may have been the biggest blunder of all my multi-dimension traveling career (though I didn't know it at the time, and would not see the consequences of my actions for years to come). Having been seated randomly as we had walked in, I found myself separated from our roughly stitched together group. For a second I was saddened by the lack of the boys' chatter in my ear, but Fate, of course, did not disappoint with my new seat-neighbors. Before I could even fully take in my surroundings, the ever-so-shy Hyuuga heiress sat in the chair next to me, seemingly conflicted on whether or not she should start a conversation.

"A-Ah... Hello, Mai-san," she chose to greet me nervously, eyes flitting over to Naruto.

"Hi, Hinata-chan!" I said hello back, using the fake grin I had grown so accustomed to throwing onto my face whenever I entered a compromising situation. Getting acquainted with the entire Rookie Nine seemed like a bad idea any way you cut it, but it was a bit too late to go back at that point—thus the faux smile had become one of the more common faces I adorned. She responded to my inviting expression with a faint blush before turning back towards the front of the classroom—Iruka-sensei having stepped inside.

"I'm glad to see you all stuck around after orientation," he commented in good fashion, scanning over the group of kids who had been placed in his class. Upon seeing Naruto, our eyes simultaneously narrowed—his at Naruto's presence, and mine at his barely concealed negative reaction towards the boy. I had forgotten that even the kind Iruka-sensei had once regarded Naruto with animosity.

Thankfully, he still had enough of a conscience to not verbally state his disdain for the boy's existence, opting to continue his lesson instead.

"I'm sure we already talked your ear off over the past two weeks, so we'll just get right into the lesson." He paused to laugh at his own quip towards himself and academy. "Can anyone here tell me what chakra is?"

Immediately, the clan kids raised their hands, followed by a vague hand gesture from me.

Unfortunately, Iruka-sensei was the type to choose students who seemed hesitant to answer. Albeit he probably did so with good intentions—like wanting to help the more quiet children become expressive—I was still rather annoyed when he scanned the seating chart in his hand and called out my name.

"Yes, Mai-chan?"

While hindered for a moment from the shock of being called on, I quickly(and foolishly) rose to the challenge.

"Chakra is a form of life energy that is produced in the chakra coils. The energy then circulates throughout the body in the Chakra Pathway System, and certain groups of people, like shinobi, can generate more chakra and release it through pressure points called—" My automatic reciting of an old lesson taught to me by one of my various genin babysitters was cut short by Iruka clearing his throat.

"That's a very... precise definition. Thank you for that, Mai-chan." He paused, not sure if he could add anything else to my already detailed explanation. Anything too complicated and none of the other children would understand the lesson. "Er, any questions?"

The children looked torn. It was clear that many of them hadn't understood my lengthy, memorized definition of what chakra was, but none of them seemed too keen on appearing ignorant to their sensei on the first day, and settled for silence. The only one brave(or straightforward) enough to speak up was Naruto, who frantically waved his hand for Iruka's attention. For reasons known only to Iruka and I, Naruto's confusion was ignored for a solid minute before Iruka relented.

"Yes, Naruto?" he asked in an exasperated tone, not wanting to give the young blond the time of day.

"Can you say it better than Mai-chan? I never get things when she tries to teach me it," he asked, adding in a complaint about me before turning around, sticking his tongue out at me.

After years of growing up with the cheeky brat, I couldn't help but instinctively offer a quick rebuttal.

"Do not!" I shouted across the room, stooping down to a six year old's level for the sake of my own stupid pride. I knew I was in the wrong, but damn it, I wasn't going to let _Naruto_ call me out on it.

"Do too!" He turned towards Shikamaru for affirmation, knowing that he'd need someone to support his (shitty) claim. "Right, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru had the faintest look of guilt on his face before he nodded. "Your explanations are sort of troublesome to understand, Mai..."

"No, they're not! Dobe is just too much of a dobe to get it," Sasuke jumped to my defense before I could do it myself, eager to take any side that opposed his rival. (A habit that seemed rather bad to have, especially when a certain power-hungry snake was involved, but I'm getting way too ahead of myself there.)

"I told you not to call me a dobe, teme!" Naruto eagerly added fuel to fire, always ready to argue with Sasuke.

"Hey! Don't call Sasuke-kun teme!" Sakura chimed in, causing the situation to get even further out of hand as Ino tried to defend Sasuke more fervently than the pinkette had, wanting to win over _her_ rival too.

"I-I think Naruto-kun is right," _Hinata_ , of all people, joined the fray, though everyone else but me paid her no mind. I really did feel for the girl—mustering up the courage to publicly defend her crush was no easy feat for someone as innately shy as her, and having those efforts go unnoticed had to be crushing.

However, before I could offer some sort of acknowledgment to her statement as a condolence, a certain dog-adoring brat beat me to it.

"Quit ignoring Hinata-chan, idiots!" Kiba snarled, the younger version of Akamaru barking in agreement.

"Eh?! Who's ignoring Hinata-chan?!" Naruto exclaimed incredulously, turning towards the blushing girl, and causing her to consequently faint.

"You are!" Kiba snapped back, ironically ignoring the passed out heiress in favor of continuing the argument.

"Am not!"

"Are so!"

" _ **Quiet**_!" Iruka-sensei finally cut in, having reached the end of his patience. For the first(and last) time ever, his command worked, causing all the children to freeze in fear as they saw his _huge_ head. It was more of the shock factor that caused us all to stop in our tracks, having never seen someone preform such an _iconic_ jutsu. (The novelty of it would—unfortunately—wear off, and the rest of the kids would come to view the ridiculous sight as something commonplace in the classroom.)

I, for one, was rather impressed by it.

He tried to further chastise us for our immature actions, but was interrupted by an obnoxiously loud bell that signaled the start of the break—and just like that, the the effect the engorged head had had one us left, and in seconds we were all scurrying towards the exit.

"Naruto! Stay behind!" I stiffened as Iruka singled out the whining blond, momentarily afraid of what he was going to inflict on the boy who I had grown more than 'just a little' attached to. My nonsensical fears were quelled though, as Iruka added onto his instructions. "And everyone else who didn't understand Mai's explanation, too!"

Half the class(mainly the kids of civilians) grumbled at that, shooting me a quick glare, while the clan kids(AKA, the rest of our makeshift group) laughed at Naruto's disdain, offering him amused waves as they walked out into the freedom of the courtyard.

"Mai-chan, you're staying in here with me, right?" Naruto asked, panic rising in his voice as he realized he would most likely have to face Iruka's lecture alone.

I cocked an eyebrow at the kid. "Now, why would I do that?"

"Mai!" His voice trailed off the further I walked away. I pitied the kid, I really did, but not even I had enough love for him to suffer under one of Iruka's infamous extra lessons. (A small, doubtful part of me wondered if I loved him at all, or if it was another one of my fruitless endeavors to finding something achingly familiar— _brot he rbrothER_ _ **BroThER**_ —in my life as Mai.)

Feelings of pity aside, I _did_ try to tutor Naruto, once, back in the orphanage, and he had decided that he'd learn about the subjects in the academy, rather than hear 'another bad lesson' from me. His need for extra lessons was nowhere near my fault, and that alone let me walk out of the classroom guilt-free.

As I stepped outside, I found the main group gathered once more.

"I kind of feel bad for the dobe. Nii-san told me to never stay for Iruka-sensei's, er, supple-meant-airy classes." Sasuke struggled to get the last two words out, making a comically endearing face as he attempted to do so.

"Supplementary?" I teased as I entered the circle, forgetting that I, as someone _younger_ than the other rookies, shouldn't be able to surpass them in anything academic—not even enunciation.

"How do you always know these things, Mai?" Choji asked curiously, eyes widened in awe at my expansive vocabulary that was, truthfully, only barely above average for the normal adult, but I couldn't exactly explain that to him.

I settled for a noncommittal shrug as a reply.

"I don't—feel bad for Naruto, I mean," Shikamaru commented, adding in the last bit as he saw our confused expressions. I was briefly taken aback at his cold input. Did Shikamaru hold some ill feelings towards Naruto after all?

"I mean, he grew up with Mai, right? So don't you guys think she would've already tried teaching him some of this stuff?" he elaborated upon seeing more put off faces.

A faint touch of pink dusted my cheeks as I shook my head. Doubting the two boys' friendship was silly, especially when it had grown so nicely during the two weeks of orientation.

"You... have a point," Sasuke conceded, presumably because it was just a little too easy to imagine Naruto refusing my offers of help, wanting to make progress in his own way.

Before we could make any further comment on Naruto's illogical reasoning skills(specifically when his pride was at stake), the bell rang once more. We begrudgingly shuffled back into the classroom—the allure of becoming a Konoha nin having already lost its charm long before any of us had entered the Academy. To clan kids raised by and around shinobi, becoming one wasn't a choice, but rather a mandatory path in their lives. I, on the other hand, was never really interested in it in the first place.

No one(though I can really only speak on my behalf) was shocked by what we were greeted with upon walking into the classroom.

Iruka, head buried in his hands and probably cursing every god out there for his predicament, and Naruto, elated at his teacher's apparent agony.

"It's... only been ten minutes," someone else who just came in whispered, amazed at how drastically the mood between the two had change.

"Huh. I thought Iruka-sensei would last longer. That big head justu was a surprise," I remarked.

"That's Naruto for you." Choji laughed.

"Yep," Sasuke reaffirmed.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru gave a weary sigh.

The three of us confirmed what everyone seemed to not want to believe.

"... Now that everyone's back, can you all take your seats again? We'll start on the first lesson right now, which we would've already done if _certain people_ hadn't decided that their argument was more important than their schooling," Iruka muttered the latter bit of the sentence, probably only meaning to say it to himself, but nonetheless the entire class heard his complaint.

I decided against making another remark (which, at that point, might have driven him to the brink of insanity). Iruka couldn't have been older than nineteen—an age that indicated enough inexperience to allow most of us to pity him. I would've sent in my resignation letter right then and there, if I had gotten stuck with a group like us during my first year as an instructor.

"Alright," he sighed, relieved that all of us had followed his instructions with no resistance. "Today we'll be trying out a very basic chakra control exercise. I've put a leaf on each of your guys' desks, and I want you to pick it up and focus all your chakra to your forehead, like so." He proceeded to demonstrate the activity on himself, smiling as he did so, before gesturing for us to attempt it too.

Most of the kids—Naruto, especially—pounced on their leaves, eager to do something that they saw as 'real' training.

I waited for a few seconds, baffled at the simplicity of our first assignment. Absentmindedly picking up the leaf, I placed it between my brows, like I had so often done in the orphanage during my mock lessons with the genin. It instantly glued itself there—so easily that I found myself looking around the room in shock.

Everyone else seemed to be struggling—which shouldn't have come as such a surprise to me, if I really had thought about it. Even the prestigious clan kids—the ones who had seemed to have started training the minute they popped out of the womb—had trouble keeping the leaf in place for more than a few seconds.

Aside me, Hinata—who had come to as the rest of us had stepped into the classroom—seemed to be having an especially hard time completing the exercise. After unsuccessfully attempting it again, she (surprisingly) turned to me for advice.

"Mai-san, can you please help me?" she asked, still using that soft lilt of hers, though there was more assertiveness in her voice than what I had remembered. That was peculiar. Maybe her bashful attitude and stutter were strictly reserved for all things concerning Naruto.

"You don't have to use that suffix, but sure. Can I see how you're doing it?" I still felt strange about honorifics and such, but nevertheless agreed to her request.

She nodded, biting her lip in concentration as she tried again. For a second, it seemed like she had succeeded—the leaf laying perfectly still across her forehead—but as soon as I started to congratulate her, it fell. It (shamefully) took a few moments for me to figure out what had gone wrong, but eventually I got a vague idea.

"How are you expelling your chakra?"

From what I could recall from the original series, the Hyuugas used short bursts of chakra in their fighting style, and it seemed wholly possible that poor, innocent Hinata—who often forgot to take things with a grain of salt—had been convinced that that was the usual method of dispelling chakra in all situations.

"I did it like otou-san told me to, but it's still not working." She furrowed her eyebrows at this, confirming my suspicions.

I cleared my throat, unsuccessfully trying to conceal my mirthful laughter at her naïvety—one that only a child could have. "Try using more chakra, but spread it out evenly, and keep it up for a longer time," I suggested.

Again, she bobbed her head up and down—the way her hair jostled along with her movements was amusing too, but thankfully, I didn't let out more than a giggle this time—and followed my advice.

The leaf stayed plastered this time around.

Unrivaled joy spread throughout her face, even reaching her pupil-less eyes, as she realized she had pulled it off. In a moment fueled by pure excitement, we had grabbed each other's hands, beaming at one another in that way that only two friends can. Of course, as soon as she realized she had displayed what would be considered 'improper' conduct by her clan, she had pulled away, reverting back to her usual self—face flared a shocking shade of red—and mumbled an apology.

I was completely taken aback at her sudden change in attitude. What the hell had her clan subjected her to that made her view public displays of affection as something to be frowned upon?

Had I been given the time to, I would have mulled over the clan's too-brutal idea of how to teach etiquette for a bit longer, but, as Fate would have it, I was immediately given something more alarming to fret about.

Iruka was staring at me—more specifically—Iruka was _staring at the leaf that was still stuck onto my forehead_. I had miraculously kept the it in place throughout Hinata and I's entire exchange—a period of time that even I knew was long enough to draw attention. My worries only doubled in size as his hand moved to jot something down next to my name on his seating chart.

Even if my characteristic mock smile did a good enough job at concealing my internal panic, it did nothing to calm down the varyingly frightening scenarios that played out in my mind. The original plan of being an obscure presence in the Naruto world had been all but thrown out the window.

The exercise came to end after that, and faintly I could hear Naruto and Sasuke bickering in the background—something about who had been able to keep their leaf on the longest. Whatever it was, I didn't catch it—if I wanted to hear one of their arguments, I could do so any other time they saw each other(which was far too often, now that we lived with Shisui)—too preoccupied with figuring out a way to underplay myself. Eventually—at least, I assumed it happened this way—Iruka got the two brats to postpone their quarrel to another day. Their noise was soon replaced by Iruka's voice, filling the room with useless information that'd render anyone as good as dead if they tried putting it to use in a real battle.

Rather than listen to information that would be all but worthless the moment I stepped into a real fight, I spent the rest of that day overthinking myself into a bout of paranoia. (Truth be told, many of the other kids in the class would've chosen to do the same if they had the option to, because no one had the patience required to sit through the lectures that Iruka attempted to give in his first year as an academy teacher.)

I prayed for the ever-so-helpful, grace-saving bell, while dreading what would come after it all at once. I was so certain that Iruka would let something slip to Shisui about the anomaly that I had displayed—insisting that I be put in a higher level class that fit my skill level, and essentially ending what little influence I had over the infinite possibilities that being in the Academy gave me. Nowhere else would I have been able to so freely decide when to interact with the main players of a game I had unintentionally joined.

But Iruka hadn't, not at first.

No—the person who ended that freedom was none other than myself.

* * *

 **And the sixth chapter is done! I hope you all enjoyed.**

 **I hate to be one for shameless self promotion, but could y'all follow my instagram kamihoe? :) I read dms way more often there, and would love to have an easier way to talk to everyone!**

 **Thanks for sticking with me! Please leave a review, if you have the time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ahh I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

In our third week at the academy, and our fifth week with Shisui, he is given his first post-Naruto mission, albeit a fairly easy one. Shisui himself had requested it, confronting the Hokage about his sudden lack of work. The Third had wanted Shisui to spend a bit more time with us, while Shisui had wanted to go back to his pre-adoptee lifestyle the minute Naruto and I had become adjusted enough. They ended up compromising, as neither of them were okay with completely conceding to the other's demands. Shisui was to be sent on a mission—a _short_ mission—but a mission nonetheless.

"Shisui-san?" I called out to my (up to that point) favorite Uchiha, knees curled up to my chest while I shared the couch with a sleeping Naruto.

"Yes, Mai?" He answered back, attention focused on putting all of his necessities into his pack. He no longer bothered with using an honorific with me.

"Iruka-sensei was teaching us about kekkai genkai and mentioned the Uchihas and the Hyuugas. Are your eyes really important?" I made a weak attempt at changing my tone of voice to that of a curious child, though admittedly I probably failed. (I didn't really care though—Shisui was a child genius himself, so there was no way he'd ever think twice about my displays of slightly above average intelligence.) Truthfully, I just wanted to make conversation with the boy before he left.

I'd be lying if I said he hadn't grown on me—something obvious enough from my (while somewhat reluctant) resolve to prevent his death from happening. With that being said, I wasn't the _only_ one who had gotten attached to the Uchiha. After five weeks of living together, Naruto had become as platonically smitten with the boy as possible, though he often liked to pretend to be disinterested when Shisui was around, going as far as to disrupt _my_ conversations with Shisui to spark his own with me.

But now Naruto was asleep, and I was left to witness the bemused smile that danced on his lips as his thought over my previous question. "I guess you could say that, but Itachi will surpass me one day, no doubt."

My heart twinged at this. He was right—Itachi _was_ gonna surpass him—but only because of his own death. I didn't allow myself to dwell on it any further, though. After all, I had already decided to save him from that fate—original Naruto storyline be damned.

"Why don't you wear something to protect them then? Like sunglasses, or something?" The suggestion was largely a joke, but the humor in it was lost with the Uchiha.

"If the only defense I have is a pair of sunglasses, I don't think protecting my eyes will be my first concern." He paused, scrunching his face up as he recalled something. "Then again, I had a cousin who used to wear goggles. They didn't do much to help him in the end, though." The last part was said with a hint of bitterness, accompanied with a shake of Shisui's head.

"I'm sorry." The apology falls out instinctively.

"Don't be. Dying sort of goes hand in hand with being a ninja." He got out of the crouched position he had used while packing his bag, a succession of cracks resounding from his body as he stretched his limbs out. "I ought to go now. The Third will be livid if I'm late again. You sure you guys'll be fine without me?"

"You sure you'll be fine without sunglasses?"

"A simple, 'Yes, Shisui-san, Naruto-kun and I will be fine,' would've sufficed. You know, for a five-year-old, you sure do have a smart mouth." He lectured, though both of us knew he wasn't really angry.

"You know, for a fifteen-year-old, you sure do act like a mother hen," I retorted, unable to hold my tongue.

He rolled his eyes. "And now I really do have to go. Thanks for gracing what possibly may have been my last few moments on this earth with your sarcasm." He made his way towards the door, choosing to wait until after he got out of my line of sight to use his shunshin.

"Don't die," I spoke as loudly as I could without waking Naruto, waving at Shisui before he could fully exit. Telling him that was pretty useless, considering the fact that his canon death date wasn't for another year, but regardless, I couldn't help but say it. It would be too sad if I hadn't.

"I'll try not to. After all, who's gonna pay for Naruto's ramen quota if I'm not here?" He asked playfully before faking a shudder. "Then again, I think I might prefer death over paying a bill that large again."

I laughed at his joke, knowing all too well the bottomless pit that was Naruto's stomach.

Shisui was gone before my laughter ceased.

And that's how our first couple days without Shisui began—a period of time that would turn out to be made up of a series of irreversible blunders on my part.

I woke in the same position as I had been when Shisui left—nestled into a tight ball and leaning against Naruto. For a few seconds I watched him there—taking in the steady rise and fall of his chest. An implacable feeling of nostalgia burned within me, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember why the sight had struck a chord. ( _precious peoPle peOpLE sibLinGs_ _ **siBliNGs**_ )

Suddenly disturbed by the way my heart physically ached, I frantically shook Naruto awake, desperate to rid myself of that unappeasable woe.

"Mai?" he mumbled, glancing at me through half-lidded eyes.

"We're gonna be late to the Academy," I lied.

"No, we're not," he called me out on it, knowing as well as I did that it was far too early for me to panic about any type of tardiness. If anything, we were up earlier than usual, as evidenced by the rays of the first light of day that peeked through the window blinds.

"Naruto, I—" I started, ready to spew out another excuse. He never let me finish that sentence.

"But okay, I'll get ready."

I had no time to reply—not even to say a vague 'thank you'—as he groggily got off of the couch and headed towards the bathroom. The kid was much more intuitive than anyone had ever given him credit for, and that both reassured and terrified me. ( _Was it me who had triggered those changes in his original personality, or had he always been that way?_ )

The door clicked, and I unwittingly breathed a sigh of relief—no longer petrified of something I couldn't even pinpoint. My heart rate slowed as the image of Naruto sleeping ( _was it Naruto that I had seen_?) faded into some dark corner of my subconscious, (hopefully) never to be seen again.

Five minutes later, Naruto stumbled out of the bathroom looking as exhausted as he had been when he had initially woken up, despite the excessive amount of hours the boy slept on average.

"Are we gonna leave now?" he murmured, squinting at me.

There was nothing else I could to stall for time, having already changed into my usual outfit before Shisui left. In all honesty, it was absurd to leave so early, but another second in the apartment would only result in Naruto falling back to sleep, and that was definitely something I could do without.

"Yeah."

We lapsed into silence as we took the usual path to the Academy, not used to not having Shisui there walking with us. Already it felt like our day had be offset—an unbearable silence falling around us.

"So," I began, but stopped as I realized there was really nothing for me to say.

"So," Naruto reiterated, still not fully awake.

Another long pause occurred before Naruto vocalized what we were both thinking. "I miss Shisui." He accompanied his statement with a large pout, crossing his arms in a stubborn-like manner.

"Me too," I agreed, frowning. Weren't the two of us used to being on our own?

Before our agonizingly dull stroll could reach an even lower point, a familiar voice called out, its owner hidden by the early morning mist. Of course, there was no need for us to see who it was to identify them—what they said made who they were incontestable.

"Dobe?"

A part of me was grateful for the interruption—I didn't know if I could handle another minute with the quiet, half-asleep version of Naruto—but another part of me dreaded turning around to greet Sasuke, because I knew damn well that the possible future heir to the Uchiha clan would never be permitted to walk alone, especially at a time when so many Konoha citizens regarded the Uchiha with animosity.

"Teme!" Naruto yelled, promptly snapping out if his low spirits to sprint to our other Uchiha friend.

I begrudgingly did a U-turn, adorning my signature cordial smile—the same one that had won Hinata over on our first day of school.

"Naruto-kun. Mai-chan," Itachi acknowledged.

"Good morning, Itachi-san," I responded, praying to every deity out there that Naruto wouldn't run off with Sasuke.

My prayers weren't answered.

As soon as Naruto had reached the younger Uchiha, the two had engaged in excited chatter, rendering Naruto's sad mood void. They ignored each other's cheeky nicknames—probably because it was far too early to start a fight—and I stiffened as the pair walked past me. Naruto and Sasuke were definitely not this friendly in the original timeline.

"They seem to be getting along quiet well." Itachi appeared next to me before I could attempt to catch up to the two, his voice filled with mirth.

"Mhm," I concurred, reluctantly accepting the fact that today's walking companion would be none other than Itachi Uchiha.

"Do you two always leave this early? I don't recall ever running into Shisui when I've previously walked Sasuke." I couldn't tell if he was simply trying to make conversation, or if he was trying to discreetly assess why our routine had changed.

"No," I decided to just come out with it, "but Shisui-san left on a mission, and we couldn't sleep."

"Hokage-sama gave him a mission? Already?" Itachi seemed genuinely surprised at this, his eyebrows raised by a hair.

"Shisui-san insisted." And suddenly he wasn't so shocked anymore. Both of us knew just how obstinate Shisui could be. (He had gotten horrible food poisoning once—so bad that the Hokage was ready to issue out a warning about an intruder powerful enough to poison ANBU operatives until Shisui had admitted to eating far too many sticks of dango. Nevertheless, while looking like he was at death's doorstep, he had dragged himself out of bed to walk Naruto and I to and from school, intent on keeping his word despite Naruto and I's insistence that he shouldn't.)

"I see."

In front of us, Sasuke laughed loudly, drawing Itachi's attention. Before he could look away, I caught a glimpse of regret in his eyes, and immediately I knew.

The Uchiha massacre plan had already been brought up.

Guilt gnawed at me, urging me to say something— _anything_ —and so I did, making the first in a saga of mistakes.

"Do you think violence is always needed in the shinobi world?" I asked with no intention of giving him time to answer. "I don't think so. I think it's stupid to resort to such drastic measures, and even more idiotic to try to justify it by saying that it's done for the good of the others," I blathered, tears welling in my eyes as I thought of all those innocent people I had seen in the compound.

Before recovering from his stunned silence to interrogate me about my oddly specific words, Sasuke turned around and waved at Itachi.

"See you later, nii-san! You have to train me today!" Sasuke beamed at his older brother while I took that opportunity to slip away from him, running to Naruto.

"Mai-chan! You were right! We _were_ almost late!" Naruto exclaimed, making me realize how much slower we had walked after running into the two Uchihas.

We had just now arrived at the academy, but all of our classmates had already begun to shuffle inside their respective classrooms. Reflexively, I grabbed Naruto's wrist and ran to catch up with them, while Naruto beckoned for Sasuke to come along with us. Together we sprinted, motivated by the thought of the lecture we'd receive from Iruka-sensei if we were late.

We made it by the skin of our teeth, all three of us heavily panting by the time we reached the rest of our peers.

"M-Mai-san?" Hinata was the first to notice us, already sitting down in her seat.

"Troublesome. How did you guys even manage to be late again? Dad said he saw you leave before us." Shikamaru shook his head in disbelief.

"Sasuke-kun looks so good when he's tired!" Sakura commented loudly, making everyone who hadn't caught Uchiha-fever falter.

Before any of us—even _Ino_ —could give her words a response, Iruka-sensei walked in, only a few seconds behind us, and the three of us scrambled to get into our seats before he could notice.

"Good morning, everyone! I'm glad that you're all here. We'll be doing something different today!" He paused and waited for us to give a reaction. When he received none, he visibly wilted, but continued to speak. "We'll be using taijutsu today in spars, instead of against dummies."

Sasuke raised his hand.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"But whoever gets to fight against Dobe will end up fighting a dummy anyways," he spoke in an innocent tone, but he hadn't even attempted to hide the amusement in his eyes.

"Damn it, Teme! I'm gonna kick your ass," Naruto shouted, getting up out of his seat to dramatize his threat.

Shikamaru, Choji, and I rolled our eyes, used to their bickering, but the rest of the future Rookie Nine eagerly jumped in.

"You'd never win against Sasuke-kun!" Sakura seethed at the thought of anyone trying to best her crush.

"Yeah!" Ino nodded in agreement before she realized who she was actually agreeing with. "Wait a minute! Don't defend Sasuke-kun! _I'm_ supposed to be the one doing that."

"I-I don't think that was very nice of S-Sasuke-kun to say." Hinata nervously interjected, poking her two pointer fingers to together. "A-And I believe in N-Naruto-kun," she added.

"See! Hinata-chan thinks I can do it!" Naruto stated proudly, making the Hyuuga turn a shade of red that looked alarmingly similar to that of a tomato. Thankfully, her blush wasn't followed by a faint this time around.

"Hinata-chan believes in everyone! Damn it, Akamaru and I are gonna kick everyone's ass!" Kiba snarled, bearing his fangs.

"If all of you don't shut up, **_I'm_** **gonna be the one to fight all of you!** " Iruka's big-head jutsu made a reappearance, but this time, to his chagrin and my amusement, the future saviors of the world paid him no mind.

"I agree that Hinata-san equally supports us all." Shino nodded.

"W-Well, Mai-chan supports me too! Isn't that right, Mai-chan?" Naruto swiveled around to look at me for encouragement.

"Yes, Naruto-kun, I do enc—"

"If all of you keep talking, I will not allow any of you to spar today or tomorrow!" Iruka warned, finally finding the right thing to hold over our heads.

All of us clammed up—even the clan kids, who often got the chance to spar at home. Sparring with kids from other clans was a rare opportunity; one that made even the rowdiest of the bunch shut their mouths.

Iruka smiled.

"Now, let's go outside."

* * *

 **This is a bit of a transition chapter, with a little bit of cute familial bonding fluff, but next chapter will have a LOT of progression, and I didn't want to make this chapter excessively long. I hope you're all enjoying Mai's slow but steady acceptance of her situation!**

 **Please review if you have the time! It honestly motivates me so much. Have a wonderful day, guys.**


	8. Chapter 8

**If you thought I had dropped this again, don't you worry your pretty little heads!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

"Sakura and Mai," Iruka's voice echoed across the courtyard, and for a second I swear I heard God himself laughing at my predicament.

"M-Me?" I stammered, turning to give the man a completely bewildered look. Did he _really_ think _I_ was capable of fighting?

"Yes, Mai. You." He raised an eyebrow at my immobile self. "What? We have to start somewhere.

My hands trembled as I walked in front of all my fellow classmates. Fortunately, Sakura seemed to be in the same state of frozen apprehension, and for a moment I thought that I might've gotten off easy. (I, as always, would be proven wrong.)

"Come on, Mai-chan! If you win, I'll tell Shisui-san to buy you an extra bowl of ramen!" Naruto cheered.

"Naruto, ramen's your thing," Shikamaru drawled, drawing out a pout from the excited blond.

"So what? Can't Mai-chan eat it too?"

"I guess." Apparently, Shikamaru had decided the argument wasn't worth the effort. I didn't blame him—arguing with Naruto was no better than arguing with a rock.

"Okay, listen up! I'll only explain this once. Each match will last three minutes—" Iruka paused to hear everyone's disappointed groans, "—so choose your strategies carefully! And remember, while this might not be a real fight, please try to take your opponents seriously. Don't worry, if things get too rough, I'll intervene."

Something was off about Sakura.

The anxious expression she had adorned was nowhere to be seen, and in its place was a fire burning with vigor.

I blanched.

In a puff of smoke, a whistle appeared in Iruka's palm, and before I even had the time to marvel over the sudden appearance of the little trinket, its sharp noise resounded throughout the academy grounds.

Sakura lunged at me first, teeth baring as she left her chest unprotected in favor of pulling her fist as far back as she could. In the corner of my eye, I could see Iruka frown at her lack of defense, but he made no move to end the fight to correct her.

Gritting my teeth, I ducked, allowing her fist to narrowly miss my head as I moved to counterattack. In her rash attempt to do as much damage as possible, she had thrown off her balance, not thinking that I'd dodge in time. Instinctively, my foot shot up, kicking her in her abdomen as she had tried bracing for her fall.

A startled yelp escaped her lips as I made contact, but she recovered with a fervor, coming back at me with an even more vivid anger in my eyes.

"Stop talking to Sasuke-kun so much!" she snarled as she went in for another punch.

I faltered. _That_ was why the pink-haired brat was so intent on smearing my guts on the ground? I didn't have time to reflect on her petulant resolve, though, as my moment of hesitation had resulted in me taking a solid punch to the cheek. Unlike me, who had let her recover after my hit had landed, she attacked again, paying me back for my kick in the abdomen with one of her own. I skidded across the ground, barely able to get back onto my own two feet as she came at me again.

"What are you _talking_ about?" I asked, bewildered as I only just evaded another hit.

"You _know_ what I'm talking about!" she snapped, throwing a series of messy, imprecise punches fueled by her tantrum. "I already stopped talking to Ino-pig for Sasuke-kun! Now he has to stop talking to you too!"

I was hardly able to stifle a groan at her childish reasoning. I wasn't _really_ able to fault her for her feelings—she _was_ just a kid after all—but _fuck_ , it was going to be annoying to fix this mess.

"Stop. Throwing. Random. Punches," I spoke between each hook she threw, finally stopping her by grabbing ahold of her wrist as she, once again, put too much force into her movement, sending her body toppling forward.

I remembered this—remembered those days I had watched the genin spar while playing ninja. There was no way in hell that I could have mastered their moves by simply watching them, but I had gotten a vague understanding of them. Using her own momentum to my advantage, I roughly tugged her towards me, accelerating her fall. As she passed me, I raised my elbow and quickly threw it downwards, catching her right in her back. She gasped as I did so—the wind completely knocked out of her by the time she actually touched the ground.

I didn't have long until she got back up—she recovered fast for a six year old brat—so I threw myself on top of her, straddling her and pinning her arms behind her back.

"Get off of me," she spat, turning her head around to give me the meanest glare I've ever received from a _child_.

"You stopped talking to Ino-chan for a _boy_?" I asked incredulously, ignoring her demand.

"Hmph." She refused to respond, but a quick glance at the blond in question gave me enough of an answer.

Standing with the class, arms crossed and tears welling up in her eyes, Ino blushed as she heard her name. I'll be honest, it was cute—adorable, even—that the two were bickering over the Uchiha that I had accidentally befriended, but there was no way in _hell_ that I was going to let them drag me into their petty fight too. "Get over it."

She did a double take. "W-What?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Friendships are worth a million times more than a prepubescent boy whose only ambition, as of now, is to spend more time with his brother," I lectured, not catching the way Iruka's eyes had widened by a fraction of an inch. (This, as it would later turn out to be, was my second mistake of that day.)

"You'd never understand, you hang out with all of them! I'm not like Ino. I don't have any clan. Sasuke-kun would never look at me if I was with her," she argued back, eyes watering to mirror the blond she had referenced. She looked away from me, choosing to face the dirt rather than look me in the eye.

I opened my mouth to attempt to reason with her even further, but before I could, Iruka's voice ended the fight. "Time."

Reluctantly, I hoisted myself off of the pinkette, and she flushed a bright red as she realized she had let her anger get the best of her.

"You guys did good for your first spar," Iruka spoke gently as he realized the girl's embarrassment.

"T-Thank you, Iruka-sensei," she mumbled, moving to get away from our classmates eyes.

I followed her actions, heading back to where a joyous Naruto, a half-asleep Shikamaru, a snacking Choji, and a slightly pink Sasuke stood.

"Mai-chan! That was so cool! I mean, you got hit, but that was still so cool!" Naruto pounced on me, embracing me in a tight hug and efficiently drawing out a wince.

"Dobe. She's injured, can't you tell?" Sasuke asked, head tilted upwards to exude an air of haughtiness. His voice, however, lacked the condescending tone that was needed to complete his act. It was a pleasant change from what I had remembered of the solemn boy in another life.

"It's fine," I said, laughing it off, but by then Naruto had violently recoiled.

He looked genuinely terrified of the droplets of blood that had begun to seep out of the rather shallow scrapes. "Mai-chan! You're gonna die!" he exclaimed, eyes widened to give a melodramatic flair.

I suppressed a giggle. "No, I'm not. It's just a flesh wound," I reassured.

He looked skeptical, but before Naruto could further insist on my imminent death via blood loss, Iruka had cleared his throat, gathering the class' attention once more.

"Naruto, Shikamaru, you're up next!"

I froze.

That wasn't supposed to happen—Naruto and Shikamaru were _never_ the ones who had had a rivalry during their time within the academy. Bile threatened to creep up my throat as the two glanced at each other, giving a non-committal shrug before making their way towards the center of the courtyard.

Next to me, Sasuke had stiffened too, bemusedly looking at Iruka's broad smile as the two boys got into position. His confusion was absolutely justified—our first few weeks at the academy had been filled with Naruto and Sasuke's petty bickering, and no one had doubted their inevitable fight.

"That's weird," Sasuke vocalized.

"Very," I agreed.

The whistle was blown, and immediately my eyes were glued to the two.

Shikamaru stood stagnant, letting Naruto make the first move. Unsurprisingly, he made the same mistake that Sakura had, lunging at Shikamaru with all of his might without regard for any unfavorable outcomes. As predictable as Naruto's move had been, Shikamaru had followed the pattern too—dodging and allowing the blond's own momentum to throw him off balance.

Then things began to deviate from Sakura and I's fight.

Unlike either of us, who had fallen and had had to take the time to recover, Naruto somehow displayed control over his landing, rolling instead of sliding against the dirt. He bore a triumphant grin as he came back at Shikamaru.

"Tch. Troublesome," Shikamaru grunted, now barely leaping out of the blond's way.

Naruto's leg shot up, grazing Shikamaru's shoulder as the latter countered with a jab to the blond's calf. My eyes barely comprehended the two's abnormally sharp movements. There was no way that this Naruto was the one who had once been considered dead last.

Naruto joyously laughed at the hit, retreating back and getting ready to launch another attack against his friend. Everyone's eyes were stuck to Naruto's swift movements as he feigned a punch, causing the soon-to-be genius tactician to duck right into a raised knee. "Gotcha!"

Shikamaru tensed as Naruto moved towards him once again, unrelenting. "I forfeit."

Naruto stopped right in his tracks, stumbling as his face went through a variety of expression—first looking confused, then aghast. "Shikamaru!" Naruto protested.

"Shikamaru!" the rest of the class—Iruka included—echoed, looking at the lazy boy in disbelief.

The boy on the receiving end of everyone's astonishment stood up straight, dusting the dirt off of his pants before firmly crossing his arms. "This is too troublesome."

"Shikamaru-kun, in a real battle, you won't be able to use that as an excuse," Iruka chastised, frowning.

"But Iruka-sensei, this isn't a real battle," Naruto answered in place of the Nara.

"Yes," Iruka started, sighing exasperatedly, "but the point of sparring is to simulate a real one."

"Ah, w-what does s-simul-ate mean?" Hinata timidly spoke up.

Iruka looked around at all three of the children who were ambushing him, overwhelmed. Apparently, he had decided it wasn't worth the effort. "Never mind, forget about what I said, let's just get on with the next round."

Hinata, though still looking confused, nodded, while Shikamaru gave a satisfied hum, and Naruto pouted.

"Hinata and Sasuke."

"What?" The two in question uttered in unison, completely thrown off guard.

"Eh?! Why is Hinata-chan fighting with teme? Let me fight him instead!" Naruto's protests were reignited as he vehemently objected the pairing, practically screeching his complaints into Iruka's ear.

Iruka disregarded Naruto's outrage, motioning for Hinata and Sasuke to set in place. "Naruto, you already fought."

The whistle blew, and for the first time, I saw the resulting ripples from my course of actions.

Hinata wasn't losing.

In fact, one might even say she was on par with the Uchiha boy, give or take a few light hits he had managed to land on her every now and then. I had never casted Hinata aside as a weakling, but this was more than even I had anticipated. This was—much like in Naruto's case— _not_ the Hinata from the old universe.

She was too swift, successfully dodging Sasuke's jabs, albeit doing so with a bit of difficulty. Her actions leaned on the offensive side—something vastly different from how her old, introverted self fought. There was no recovery time between the two's blows, and if one were to look at them from a distance, it might have been mistaken for a spar between two graduating academy students.

With that being said, Sasuke still wasn't _losing—that_ wouldhave been a little _too_ weird, even for me _—_ he was simply having a much harder time subduing his opponent.

"Kick his ass, Hinata-chan!" Kiba cheered, enticing the rest of the class to follow suit.

"Damnit, teme! You can't lose to anyone else but me!" Naruto yelled, cheering for his best friend in the only way that he knew how to.

As it so happened, Naruto's loud want for his friendly rival to win ended up throwing Hinata off, inducing a bright tomato-red blush from the girl and distracting her long enough for the Uchiha to land a solid kick, knocking her down.

"Time!" Iruka cried out, earning yet another groan from the rest of our classmates. Everyone had wanted to see more of the quick-paced, abnormally intense spar.

Hinata shakily pushed herself off of the ground, turning towards Sasuke to give a slight bow. The boy mimicked her action, pink dusting his cheeks.

"I knew Sasuke-kun would win!" Sakura swooned. Oddly enough, few people had noticed that Hinata's blunder was wholly due to Naruto's interruption.

I had to get to the bottom of this.

With the grace of a toddler learning how to walk, I maneuvered between my classmates, making my way over to the girl who had blown everyone's expectations of her straight out of the water. "Hinata!"

"M-Mai?" she greeted back, eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

"Hinata! Where did you learn how to fight like that?" An excited grin was pasted onto my face, masking the sudden wave of anxiety that had washed over me as I had noted just how different everything already was.

"O-Otousan saw me practicing the leaf exercise and started to train me harder," she explained.

"O-Oh! That's really cool! I, uh, gotta go see if Sasuke is alright, um, see you later," I excused myself, stumbling over my words, desperately needing to get out of the vicinity before I emptied the remains of whatever I had had for breakfast that day into the courtyard.

I had only wanted to help the poor girl out with a simple chakra exercise! I never thought that her father would catch sight of her rapid improvement and enforce a new training regime on her, though looking back now, I should've expected it. Hinata was still the heiress to the Hyuuga clan, and any smidgeon of hope in her becoming a strong leader would be given the utmost care and attention.

"Ino and Choji..."

The rest of the spars continued in the same fashion—with somewhat predictable moves added alongside slight changes to what probably would've happened in the original storyline. Some people seemed significantly more motivated this time around; others retained their old personalities, but acquired a new trait or two.

Without ever intending to, I had already altered everyone's lives.

* * *

 **Short chapter again! I'm sorry for taking so long! School just started for me and I'm already super overwhelmed but I will try to update once a week-ish. Please review if you have the time! Have a beautiful, fantastic day!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Surprise! What a bad, inconsistent, irresponsible author I am, huh? Yet somehow I'm always finding myself dragged back to this mess I can't bring myself to let go. So here goes nothing, again. Thanks for the patience. I truly appreciate you all.**

 **I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

"Mai-chan, can you stay behind for a second?" Iruka-sensei's usual air of sincerity seemed strained as he made the request.

Every inch of my body screamed at me to politely refuse and run like the devil was chasing my tail, but by then Naruto had already taken up the initiative to agree for me.

"It's okay, Mai-chan, you don't need to walk home with me today! Teme invited me over to practice chakra control with his brother!" He shot me a genuinely happy grin as he walked out of the classroom without me, leaving me with our uncharacteristically nervous teacher.

Reluctantly, as there wasn't really any other option out there for me, I accepted my fate. "Yes, Iruka-sensei?"

For a quick second he paused, studying me and searching for something, though I wasn't sure what it was. He seemingly found it though, as he quickly let an almost sincere smile grace his lips. "It's nothing _too_ big, but would you mind accompanying me to the Hokage's office?"

My heart could have jumped out of my chest right then and there, and from what it looked like Fate had in store for me, that might've been the most peaceful way to go but, unable to express the distress I _really_ felt, I adorned my own faux smile. "Sure, Iruka-sensei."

The walk from the academy to the office was agonizingly slow. It was almost as if Iruka-sensei was intentionally trying to drag it out as long as possible. By the time we arrived outside of the Third's abode, I was ready to burst, but oddly enough, Iruka seemed just as on edge.

It had been two days since the sparring lesson, and Shisui still hadn't returned. His absence wasn't exactly an abnormality, as he _was_ a shinobi before anything else, but nonetheless his not being in the home had taken a toll on me. Without him, I had to resume my role as Naruto's main caretaker—a part I had no qualms with. It was simply tiring, and left me exhausted at the end of the day.

I was even more unprepared for the situation that was about to ensue.

Iruka shot a nervous smile at the desk lady, leaning in and mumbling something to her that I couldn't quite make it was, it was effective enough to earn us an audience with the Hokage himself.

"Hokage-sama, pardon my intrusion," Iruka said stiffly as he entered, clearly anxious.

"Iruka-san," he greeted. "I was told you wanted to see me, but I didn't expect for you to bring little Mai-chan along. Did Naruto-kun stick you with her?" Sarutobi responded kindly, making an obvious attempt at calming the fidgety chunin down.

"Ah, no. I wanted to discuss Naruto-kun and Mai-chan's education at the academy." Iruka got straight to the point, and immediately dread washed over me.

Sarutobi frowned. "I was afraid of this. Is Mai-chan too young to attend after all?"

If I hadn't been so petrified of what the hell was going on, I may have been offended at his lack of faith in my capability. Unfortunately, as I was absolutely frozen in fear, I could only manage to give a slight head tilt in response, because if anything, I was more than qualified for the academy.

And that was the problem.

"No no no," Iruka denied, vehemently shaking his head and confirming my abilities. "It's the opposite."

"The opposite?" The Hokage perked an eyebrow at Iruka's bold claim. Clearly intrigued, he moved aside the papers on his desk and motioned for the two of us to take a seat across from him. "Please, Iruka-san, elaborate."

Iruka graciously took a seat, tugging me along and gesturing for me to sit down next to him. Unable to reject his silent request without making it seem odd, I did as I was told, figuratively biting my tongue to keep from breaking and spilling every damn secret that I had. This atmosphere was just way too intimidating for me, and the skittish manner that Iruka was carrying himself with didn't exactly ease my worries.

"I'm not sure how to phrase this, Hokage-sama, so forgive me if I come across as impudent, but I just don't think we placed Mai-chan in the right class, or even in the right path. The way she examines situations and appropriately responds to them, and her level of skill is far beyond what someone her age should be able to manage." Too on edge to state things in a concise manner, Iruka seemed to be justifying his own thoughts as he went on. Realizing this, he paused to recollect himself. "I believe we should evaluate Mai and place her in the appropriate class to hone her talents."

"You think she's too advanced to be a first-year academy student?" Sarutobi inquired, pressing for more elaboration out of Iruka.

"Yes. I know as a first time instructor myself, I may not be able to accurately pinpoint where the students should be skill-wise, but from just seeing her interactions with other students, I do think it wouldn't be the best decision to let her progress at the same speed as the rest of the kids."

The Hokage seemed to mull over this for a few moments before nodding. "I see. Let me talk to ANBU-san for a second, please, then tell me more about these 'interactions.'"

Iruka nodded and leaned back in his seat, visibly less skittish to speak with the Hokage now that he knew his observations of my peculiarities wouldn't just be brushed off. I, on the other hand, looked like I had just had an encounter with the devil himself. Clammy hands clenched tightly as I avoided eye contact with Iruka, focusing instead on Sarutobi as he moved to whisper something to the ANBU in the room.

Before I even registered the Hokage's lips moving, the ANBU operative nodded sharply, shunshin-ing out of the room.

"Sorry about that." The Hokage smiled good naturedly before gesturing for Iruka to continue. "Please, go on."

"At the beginning of the year, the students were introduced to a chakra-control exercise; they were meant to make an _attempt_ at sticking the leaf to their forehead." I paled as I knew exactly what he was about to refer to.

"Attempt, but not actually achieve, right?" The Hokage asked, though I was certain he already knew the answer.

Iruka validated his guess with a nod.

"Though it might be rare, I'm sure it's not impossible for someone outside of a clan to get it on their first try," Sarutobi countered, and suddenly a new wave of fondness washed over me for the Third Hokage. I could weep tears of joy over his lack of faith in me. At least this way, I wouldn't be written off as a prodigy and thrown into battle.

Unfortunately I spoke—thought?—too soon.

"Yes, I understand that, sir. What is odd is how Mai-chan observed those around her and aided them with the exercise too."

I knew it. I knew my interaction with Hinata was going to come back to bite me in the ass.

"I'm going to need a little more than that, Iruka."

"Hinata Hyuuga, the Hyuuga heiress. I've heard that she's had… struggles with properly controlling her chakra. Within a few seconds of watching Hinata-chan fail at the exercise, Mai-chan was able to pinpoint the issue and phrase it in a way to help the heiress correct herself."

Sarutobi furrowed his eyebrows, and once again my heart sunk. "I see… that is quite abnormal for someone so young. Do you have any other examples?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Two of my students seem to have developed a fondness for little Sasuke-kun, and have had constant arguments over him. It's quite innocent, and it does no harm, but Mai-chan was able to address their conflict while calming one of them down during a spar. While my other student had attacked her aggressively and recklessly as is expected of young academy students, Mai retaliated quite efficiently, and calmly at that."

The Third hummed softly as he shifted his gaze away from Iruka and towards me. "It seems you're quite remarkable, Mai-chan."

Without any control over my reaction, I blushed. "T-Thank you."

He turned back towards Iruka. "I'm sure it'll be simple to evaluate Mai and place her in a class more suited to her skill level."

In an instant, the shy blush was gone, and in its place was a look of pure terror. Though I might have had the brains of an adult, I was still in a whole new world, and being thrust into the real shinobi life so soon didn't sound all that appealing. With my luck, I'd be dead before the other kids in my current class became genin. I had to find an excuse to stay where I was now, and I had to find it fast.

"B-But Naruto…" I let my voice trail off.

The Hokage looked down at me in surprise and let out a small bark of a laugh. He leaned across his desk to get closer to me, allowing me to see the gentle expression on his face in greater detail. "Don't worry Mai-chan. I won't allow the two of you to get separated while either of you are still in the Academy. That boy adores you more than any other caretaker he's ever had." Sarutobi feigned a thoughtful look. "Well, _almost_ any other caretaker. Isn't that right, Shisui?"

Before I could fully comprehend the name the Hokage had just dropped, I was put on the receiving end of a familiar pat on the head.

"That's a difficult one to call, Hokage-sama. I think Naruto likes Mai quite a bit."

Both Iruka and I flinched, startled at the surprise entrance from the flippant Uchiha, while the boy in questioned exchanged a cheerful grin with the Hokage. "The mission was a success, but I was called here by ANBU-san before I could get a mission report written up. I'm not complaining, though."

His tone was jovial, and he wore a peaceful expression, but a closer look gave away just how hurriedly he had rushed to the Hokage's office. His delicate frame trembled ever so slightly with barely labored breathing, and a sheer layer of sweat shone on his face. "Hokage-sama, you really should give more detailed explanations when you summon someone to your office!"

"Ah, my apologies, Shisui-kun, I didn't intend to be the source of any alarm," he expressed his regret, though the amused glint in his eyes betrayed his lack of real remorse.

Shisui's hand made its way back to my head once more, this time ruffling my hair before he responded. "Come on, Hokage-sama, how could I not worry? All ANBU-san told me was that it was imperative for me to come to your office as soon as possible, and that all that could be disclosed was that little Mai-chan was involved."

Once more, the face-engulfing flush returned, this time bringing me to a solid shade of cherry-red.

"Don't worry too much about these kids, Shisui. You'll be graying too soon if you do," Sarutobi joked, though it was obvious he was relieved that Naruto and I—mostly Naruto if he were to be completely honest with himself, of course—had found a suitable guardian for the time being. "Anyways, the matter I called you here for isn't all that urgent. It was just more efficient for you to be here as Iruka and I discuss a course of action for Mai. She _is_ under your care now."

Shisui looked taken aback. "What exactly are we discussing here?"

"Mai-chan has shown far more potential than what I, as her current sensei, could properly hone. I just don't think it'd be right of me to instruct her as I do all the other kids." Iruka explained.

The Uchiha processed the information with a slight nod of the head. "I see… Hokage-sama, do you agree with Iruka-san?"

The air in the room suddenly felt a lot colder as the amiable aura the Hokage had been projecting momentarily slipped. "Well, seeing as Mai-chan hasn't seemed the slightest bit lost while following our conversation, I do believe her intelligence is, at the very least, above average. She hasn't averted her attention in the slightest, which also suggests that she has comprehended every word that's been said. In short, yes, I do believe Iruka-sensei is onto something."

If I had had any less self control, a string of curses would have tumbled out of my mouth by then. The entire damn conversation had been an aptitude test, and I had apparently—and unfortunately—passed with flying colors.

Instead, all that made its way out of my mouth was a sharp, "No."

It was the first time I had spoken out against any of the three men in front of me—an uncharacteristic action that, based on their sudden attentiveness to my presence, clearly startled them.

Shisui, who had had the most experience with talking to me, reinitiated the convo. "What do you mean, Mai-chan?" He spoke gently, bending down and resting his hands on his knees as he got onto my height level.

"I'm not leaving the Academy without Naruto." Truthfully, I was half-using Naruto's dependence on me as an excuse for my unwillingness to move forward to what they would deem as an appropriate class for my skill level. With that being said, how much Naruto relied on my presence _was_ taken into account as a reason for my protest. After spending so long with the kid, there was no way I could leave him to fend for himself—at least, not in good conscience.

Silence took hold of the room for a brief moment before a friendly laugh took its place. "Well, that's that then." The Hokage didn't seem put off in the slightest at my refusal.

"I-Is it really alright?" Iruka questioned, looking at his superior in bewilderment.

"Well, from the way Mai-chan is looking at us, even if we push, I doubt her stance on this is gonna change." Shisui paused and, for a fraction of a second, seemed to be in deep thought. "Maybe this is better though; I don't want Mai-chan to turn out like Itachi-kun."

"Hokage-sama?" Iruka turned to the Third for his opinion on the matter.

"If staying in her current year is what she's insisting on, there's really nothing we can do. I'm sorry, Iruka-san, but it seems like you're gonna have to be her instructor for a little while longer." Once more, the Hokage voiced his apology with an amused lilt.

I was off the hook, but judging by the near-visible gears turning in the Hokage's head, my relief was only momentarily.

"Shisui, you can take Mai-chan back home now." And just like that, the anxiety that had welled up inside of me deflated.

"Sure," Shisui chirped, grabbing hold of me and lifting me out of the seat.

A small part of me—the grown woman in my mind that still had _some_ of her dignity intact—wanted to insist on my own ability to walk out of the office. The rest of me was perfectly content with being doted on. It was a hell of a lot better than the eery loneliness that Naruto and I had both felt in the Uchiha's absence.

We had been nearly out of the door when our escape was halted by two simple words. "Hold it."

Shisui muttered something that sounded a lot like a curse word. He turned, plastering the fakest of all smiles onto his face. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"I still want the mission report on my desk by tomorrow."

"...Yes, Hokage-sama."

* * *

 **Holy crap, it's been awhile since I've updated, and I truly am sorry for that. I just suck at commitment, but every email I got from this site guilted me into continuing this silly story. If you've stayed with me throughout my unreliable-ness, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.**

 **Please leave a review, even if it's just to chew me out on my hiatus(again!)**


	10. Chapter 10

**So sorry this took two weeks! I also apologize for the shortness in length. Class elections are going on right now and I've been a little busy campaigning for student class president. I hope this chapter is still somewhat enjoyable!  
**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

For a while, Shisui and I walked home in surprisingly good spirit, and for a moment I almost doubted whether or not our meeting with the Hokage had really happened. It seemed like an outlandish dream; there was no way I could let myself get more deeply involved with the shinobi world as a whole.

I was already screwed enough as it was.

"Mai," Shisui called, breaking me out of another one of my pity parties.

"Hmm?" I hummed in response and looked down, avoiding his gaze.

Judging by the cautious tone he had taken up, I was about to be dragged into round two of the unwanted proposal. We had stopped walking and stood only a few yards from the entrance into Shisui's apartment. I briefly considered making a run for the home and using Naruto's presence as an excuse to escape the conversation, but Shisui had already started speaking again.

"How long have you and Naruto been together?"

The question took me by surprise. "Uh, a few years—so most of my life, essentially."

"Essentially, huh?" I flinched as Shisui echoed what I had said. "That's an awfully long word for a kid to know."

"Gee, thanks." I gave as bashful of a laugh that I could muster, feigning ignorance towards what he was trying to draw attention to.

He paused, and I took it as an opportunity to glance up at his face. Immediately I came to regret that decision, having made eye contact with the unusually inquisitive Uchiha. He made no effort to conceal the thoughtful stare, and I could almost physically feel him sizing me up.

"What's with that look?" I offered up another nervous laugh.

My voice seemed to have triggered him out of his little analysis, as the moment the words left my lip, Shisui moved. Within what felt like a fraction of a second, he had crouched down, now on eye level with me as he placed both hands on my shoulders.

"Mai, you don't have to be afraid of leaving Naruto behind." The kind smile accompanying his words silenced my protest and allowed him to continue. "You know, Itachi-kun was like that too; it took the entire clan's nagging to get him away from Sasuke."

Relief flooded my body. He only wanted to urge me to accept the offer, not confront me for having an abnormal amount of knowledge for a five year old. "I don't know…"

"Mai, I know it feels like you're abandoning Naruto, but you won't become a genin for a long while, and you'll still see him at home. I haven't seen Hokage-sama be this okay with a year skip since Itachi-kun! This is really a great opportunity for you to advance to a level that fits how gifted you are."

"If you're so excited about this then just do it yourself," I said half-teasingly, knowing the argument was illogical.

"I did."

His response made me wince. Here I was, insensitively acting like the option I'd been given—the same one that Itachi and Shisui had chosen without remorse—was the worst thing that could have possibly happened to me.

I lowered my head again, not being capable of looking him straight in his hopeful eyes as I declined the offer. There was absolutely no way I _could_ do it—not as long as I had the slightest sense of self preservation. Speeding through my life as an academy student would just be me begging for a sooner deathwish. "I'm sorry but I just—"

Before the rest of my rejection could be said, I was tackled onto the ground by a blurry ball of orange and blond— _Naruto_.

"Eh?! Mai! That's what Iruka-sensei wanted to talk to you about?" Naruto's mouth moved rapidly as he pushed himself off of me.

I hesitantly nodded in confirmation, and was met with silence from Naruto.

I brushed the dirt off of myself as I got up and slowly turned my attention towards Naruto's face. ' _Will he be mad that Iruka had singled me out to advance rather than him? Will he be heartbroken at the thought of me leaving and beg me to stay?'_ These kinds of questions ran through my head as my eyes focused on the expression on Naruto's face, but no kind of anticipation could prepare me for what I was actually going to see.

Rather than one of anger or hurt, only a look of pure admiration decorated his face.

"You have to agree to it then, Mai!" he exclaimed, startling me so badly that I almost fell to the ground all over again.

"E-Eh?!"

"See? Even Naruto agrees!" Shisui smiled in a satisfactory manner, clearly proud of me getting the offer and Naruto's enthusiastic reaction to it. The smile faded, however, as he took note of the panicked expression that had taken over my face.

Without a warning, Shisui got up from his crouching position, and now he stood upright, arching his back and yawning. "I'm a little tired from my mission though, so let's go inside and talk about this after we eat some of Mai's curry." He shot me a different smile this time; it was a smile of understanding, and though I wasn't sure exactly what Shisui thought he understood about my predicament, I was nonetheless grateful for it.

I could say no to almost anyone. Almost. The only exception happened when I was faced with Naruto's endearing pout that made me feel as if I had kicked a puppy. Thankfully, Shisui had saved me from that evilly pure look.

"Who said I was cooking tonight?" I raised an eyebrow, gladly playing along with Shisui's attempt to divert the conversation topic.

"What about Mai and the Hok—" Naruto's attempt at bringing the conversation back onto my dilemma was cut short as Shisui picked up the blond with ease.

"Come on, Naruto! Don't you wanna eat some of Mai's cooking tonight? It's been a few days since I've been home, and I'm pretty hungry."

Judging by the shock in his tone, Naruto hadn't fully comprehended Shisui's return until then. "Shisui?! You're back from your mission?" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, twisting his body in Shisui's arms to face the Uchiha directly.

"Yep! Now let's go inside," he replied amiably.

"But—"

"We can talk more about it later." Shisui's voice lacked the enthusiasm it had had only moments before.

We stepped inside without any further commotion about my meeting with the Hokage, but something told me that definitely wasn't the end of that conversation. There was no way in hell that I'd be let off that easily.

I would prove to have been right, as not even an hour later Naruto casually brought up the topic again.

"So you're gonna do it, right?" he chirped so unexpectedly that I didn't even understand what he was referring to.

"Do what?"

Naruto leaned in, making gestures that indicated for me to be more quiet. The two of us were on one end of the couch, the other having been occupied by an exhausted Uchiha. Despite being the one who had been so adamant about having me cook, he had fallen asleep long before the food was ready, and both Naruto and I had decided to pass on waking the boy.

"Y'know, tell the Old Man 'yes,'" he clarified, looking up at me with big doe eyes.

I recoiled from his figure next to mine. "Of course not! I have to stay here with you."

Naruto turned away for a moment, visibly debating something in his mind. I had been with him for most of my new life, and yet I'd never seen such a concentrated look on his face before.

"You can go." It looked like it had pained him to say those three words, yet the resolve in his tone was easily heard.

I was taken aback by the selflessness of his words. He had grown up alone for the first half of his life, and, judging by what little I had seen during my few moments of inaction when I had first met Naruto, those years had been absolute shit.

Being alone was absolute shit.

"No way," I refused.

"Mai."

"Naruto."

" _Mai._ "

Shocked by the sudden change in Naruto's personality, I took a few seconds to look at him— _really_ look at him. I had been so preoccupied with fretting over the slight changes I had made to his history that I stopped paying attention to the smaller things around me. The battered boy who clung to me as tightly and as often as possible was gone. In his place was the clear foundations for a man who'd grow up to be a great leader one day—the future seventh Hokage.

I didn't understand it. _Couldn't_ understand it. How had things changed so drastically without me having noticed in time?

He was so different from the hurt boy from the original storyline— _too_ different.

And because of that difference, there was only one thing I had left to do.

"I'll think about it." _Yes_.

Leave.

I had altered too much of the original story, the original characters. If I didn't leave as quickly as I could, my close proximity with the main characters had the potential to be disastrous. The further I could get from Naruto and his friends, the better.

As much as I hated to admit it, I had grown attached.

He nodded vehemently, satisfied with my response. There was a clear sense of pride in his aura now—he was proud that he was able to sacrifice my constant presence in his life for what he thought was for my benefit. There was no way I could say no to someone who was so ready to put me first.

Shisui woke up shortly after I had sealed my fate, though I was highly suspicious of whether or not he had been asleep at all. Things had played out too perfectly in his favor for him to not have had _some_ influence.

I picked at my food as Naruto and Shisui practically gulped their servings down. Between spoon-fulls of rice, Naruto paused to look at me expectantly.

"Shisui, can we go talk to the Hokage again… I think I'm gonna do it." The reluctance in my voice was easy to read, but both boys ignored it and high fived each other, earsplitting grins on their faces.

Despite the direness of my situation, a small smile broke my stoic expression too.

If agreeing to the Hokage and Iruka's request got a reaction like that from the two boys, then maybe I didn't mind it all that much.

The rest of that day, and the day following it, is blurred now.

I went to the academy as usual and avoided Iruka's expectant glances. Then I stood with Naruto and his classmates, adopting an uncharacteristic show of silence. A few times someone would look at me inquisitively, but Naruto would beckon for them to come closer so he could explain, and then all I would receive was some type of congratulations. Whatever it was, all it served to do was make me shrink further into my shell. Their words and gestures came with good intentions, but I could only think of how it reaffirmed my fate as a future kunoichi for Konoha.

My list of ways to escape this life would only get smaller and smaller as I moved up higher in their Academy system. It was normal for a few students to drop out after their first year, and it wouldn't have been questioned in the slightest if I had done so. Leaving after receiving special notice from the Hokage himself, on the other hand, was a whole different story.

The entire day at the Academy felt like it had lasted little more than an hour or two. Too soon, I was facing Shisui's disarming smile outside the Academy gates. I froze in place with every sensible part of me screaming for me to give the proposal a hard pass. My classmates gave me quizzical looks as they had to walk around me, none of them noticing the emotional turmoil I was currently experiencing.

"You ready?" Shisui's tone was almost disgustingly cheery as he strolled over to stand next to me.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I grimaced at how easily I was letting my old life plan crumble.

"See ya later, Mai! I'm going with teme and Shika!" Naruto ran between Shisui and I to catch up to the aforementioned boys.

It was kind of irking; apparently he wasn't all that attached to me after all, if his eagerness to leave without me was taken into account.

Well, at least one of us seemed happy.

* * *

 **Hehe the ball's starting to roll! The next chapter should come out more quickly than this one did, but if it doesn't, feel free to PM me and yell at me to get to writing!**

 **Have a great day, and please review! Seriously, whenever I feel unmotivated, I just reread your guys' reviews. They're like my bread and butter.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sooo... I kind of published this faster than the last chapter...**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ah," the Hokage exclaimed, clasping his hands together to show his enthusiasm at my decision. "Perfect!

I shuffled my feet, standing uncomfortably by Shisui's side. We had just informed the Hokage of my choice to leave the academy, and his joy over it was almost suffocating. Now more than ever, I was grateful for how the boy's height caused him to tower over me; it gave me a sense of safety, and that was gladly welcomed regardless of whether or not I was _actually_ safe. With that being said, judging by how my heart felt more and more heavy with each word that came out of the Hokage's mouth, I'd have to conclude that I _definitely_ wasn't safe—not in the slightest of ways.

I had somehow—despite my best efforts not to—gotten myself even more deeply involved in the shinobi world.

"So Shisui-kun, shall I take you off the active nin roster now so you can start tutoring Mai-chan immediately?" The Hokage's way of addressing Shisui was so informal—so _casual—_ that both he and I almost missed what had been said. Our reactions when we did comprehend the sentence, however, did not fail to entertain.

"Excuse me?" Shisui and I spoke in unison, too overwhelmed with disbelief to speak in any proper manner.

"Ah, did I fail to mention that in our last meeting? I apologize, but is there any problem with the assignment?" the Hokage asked with a benign smile, but his innocence to his failure in conveying the information was betrayed by the sharpness in his eyes.

"No, maybe we were just too inattentive to hear about it last time," Shisui responded, though it was clear to all three of us in the room that his words were only said out of pure courtesy. In reality, they meant something along the lines of, ' _I'll go along with your orders, even if I don't want to.'_

"I see," the Hokage's smile seemed more strained, as if his words were not what he truly wanted to say. "Now you'll be able to spend more time with your clan. You requested more domestic missions for that, right?" It was clear that they were speaking in code; all of their responses thinly veiled much darker secrets.

Unfortunately for me, I was all too aware of what they really meant.

The Uchiha massacre had always been prominent in my mind; every interaction I had with the happy Sasuke gutted me with the knowledge of how destroyed that happiness would soon be. But even so, I hadn't realized how quickly time was passing. Already, forces beyond my little existence in this world had begun to move—begun to orchestrate that tragedy. For all I knew, Obito could have been conspiring with Danzo at that very moment, or Danzo was working out the kinks in Shisui's murder.

It took every bit of will I had amassed from both my lifetimes to not expose myself with one of my infamous panic attacks.

Instead, I carefully recomposed myself and began to listen more attentively to their conversation.

"Be sure to inform me if anything interesting transpires—with Mai-chan's progress, I mean." That was _definitely_ not what he meant.

In that moment, Shisui appeared older than ever to me, adorning a fake smile. "Of course."

Shisui turned to me, looking down at me with an expression I had never seen on his face before. It was the image of pure resignation—he was fully aware of what he was _really_ agreeing to by accepting his position as my new instructor. There was something else there, though—a lingering sadness in his eyes, one that was only emphasized by the delicate framing of his lashes. He placed his hand on my shoulder that was furthest from him, using it as leverage to pull me closer to his side.

"I guess I'm your new sensei." His words came with a lopsided grin, but that did little to conceal the hurt that he had accidentally revealed to me just moments before.

His maturity often baffled me, and now was no exception. Fighting tears at how ugly the world had to be to place a _child_ in such a precarious situation, I gave him my own faux display of enthusiasm at our new predicament. "If you're not careful, I'm gonna get stronger than you one day, Shisui- _sensei._ "

"I'm glad you two have no apparent issue with this." For once, the Hokage seemed genuine as he himself thinly masked his own sadness at what he was asking Shisui to do. "I'll leave the training regiment up to you, Shisui-kun, but I advise you to not be afraid of straying from the traditional academy education. I advise you to use the Uchiha grounds for this, but if need be, the Third Training Ground will be open to you, too."

I struggled to hide my annoyance at how confident he was that I'd eventually come around to the idea of leaving Naruto on his own at the academy to focus on my own improvement. Arranging for an entire training ground to be kept open wasn't a spur of the moment decision—he had to have asked for it the minute we left the day before. Did I really seem _that_ unloyal to Naruto?

It took a few seconds for Shisui to respond.

"I appreciate it, Hokage-sama." He, too, seemed irked at the arrangements the Third had made for our training.

And with that—four simple words that were probably often spoken by many active shinobi—both our fates had been set in stone. I repressed the urge to flinch away as Shisui stuck out his hand for me to hold, signalling that the meeting was over.

Begrudgingly, I took it—my own way of choosing compliance in the direction life was tugging me.

We walked out of the tower in dignified silence; both of us were too preoccupied with mulling over our future course of actions to spare time for useless small talk. I was in no mood to put up a front for the boy, and—going by his scarcely concealed frown—he was in no mood to entertain me with false appearances either. It would've been a relieving break from my show of feigned ignorance had I not been fretting over just how absolutely _fucked_ I was.

"Training Ground Three?" Shisui spoke thoughtfully, apparently tired of the eery quietness.

"Unless we were _too inattentive to hear_ again, then yes," I quipped back, unable to keep my vexation under wraps for any longer.

"Would _you_ accuse the Hokage of purposely withholding information?" His voice rose in pitch as he defended himself.

An almost maniacal grin manifested on my face as I caught note of his slip up. He was too off guard around me, though to be fair, I would be too. All he saw from his perspective was a little kid who _might_ have had good observation and comprehension skills.

"Who said anything about _purposely_ withholding information? I was just thinking that perhaps the old man had finally gone senile—just like what Naruto claims," I chirped, clearly lying.

For a moment, Shisui seemed to have debated whether or not to comment on my attentiveness to his exact wording—a skill few children should have developed by my age. He appeared to have settled for the latter option, choosing instead to change the subject once more. "That training ground was known for creating legends, y'know."

"Hmm?" I hummed, pretending to be ignorant to the infamy that surrounded the various training grounds. In reality, I knew exactly what he was talking about, but I would have much rather talked about superstitions in Konoha than the mystery behind my seemingly prodigal-level of verbal comprehension.

"The Sannin were all trained there by good ole' Hokage-sama! Maybe some of their luck will rub off on you."

"Really? That's interesting. Maybe it will." I forced a giddy laugh.

The conversation was painstakingly bland and wholly artificial, and both he and I knew it.

"There's more to you being my new instructor than what the Hokage is saying, isn't there?" Perhaps taking the forthright approach wasn't my _best_ decision, but there was little I could to to retract my words after they had already been said.

Shisui smiled wryly. "Iruka-san was right about you being observant."

"You're deflecting again."

"If you're smart enough to understand that I'm deflecting, then you're definitely smart enough to know _why_ I'm deflecting."

I couldn't argue against that; he was right. The reason for his not-so-subtle change in topic was clear to anyone who knew about the confidentiality that went hand in hand with all things involving shinobi.

"When are we gonna start training?" Now it was _my_ turn to divert where the conversation seemed to be heading. I had no desire to discuss my unnatural knack for understanding things that required background knowledge far beyond my years.

Their chances of guessing where my abnormal intelligence came from was miniscule, but there nonetheless. Call me batshit crazy for it, but I had no intentions of testing God's charitability when it came to things involving the trainwreck of a life that I'd been twice-given.

"Tomorrow. Meet me at the training field after I drop off Naruto." Shisui barely had to think of a suitable time for us to meet up. He either had incredible memory and had tomorrow's schedule completely memorized, or he had predicted that the Hokage was going to assign me to him before today's meeting and had already thought out what he would do.

For some reason, I figured it was the latter option. Naruto and I had only been with him for a couple months, but we had already become fully aware of how ditzy the prodigal Uchiha could be. In more than one instance, his awful attention-span and lack of alertness to all things not-dire had gotten Naruto and I instated as his unofficial guest greeters who showed people that Shisui had forgotten about inviting over in.

"Sure thing," I replied.

I glanced up now, finally taking notice of where he and I had walked to while buried deep in this conversation that served solely to preserve our image of the other. Somehow we had made it to the main Uchiha section of the village. While our apartment complex was located at the far edge of the area, this time we stood at the very center of it, surrounded by completely normal people carrying on as normal people do. I felt no malice from them, and I certainly didn't feel anything that indicated that they were conspiring something so awful that they deserved a death sentence.

The massacre was just too cruel.

"Shisui. Mai-chan," Itachi greeted, conveniently being in the same area as Shisui and I.

I, like I always did, flinched back in acknowledgment of his presence, but the two boys were used to this behavior now and paid little attention to it.

"Itachi-kun!" Shisui shouted, now giving a genuine show of happiness as he left my side to run over to where his best friend stood. He slung a loose arm over Itachi's shoulder and pulled him in for a friendly hug.

"So…" He let the word draw out to enhance the dramatic effect of the proceeding question. "Why do you seem more glum than usual?"

Itachi and I both displayed matching looks of comical surprise at Shisui's keen observation. While we were both well aware of the young boy's position in Konoha's ANBU unit, he rarely showcased any of his abilities. While reading emotions was a skill that was expected to come at ease to shinobi, being able to read the emotions of a fellow ANBU operative was a whole other story.

"Sasuke is… with Naruto-kun and Nara-san... " Itachi stated, not bothering to elaborate further on why that fact upset him so much.

While I was visibly confused, Shisui immediately nodded in understanding, and a grin that alluded to soon-to-come unrelenting teasing made its way onto his face.

"Is the ever-so stoic Itachi-kun feeling left behind by his little brother?"

I blinked, unable to comprehend what I had just heard. There was no way Itachi ' _I'll slaughter my entire family rather than search for a less gruesome alternative'_ Uchiha could feel jealousy over such a petty situation. It just wasn't possible.

But judging from the soft flush of pink—a _blush_ —that spread across his cheeks, Shisui had hit the nail on the head.

Itachi avoided answering his inquiry. "Sasuke-kun can play with who he wants with."

"Yes, he _can_ , but the question is: do you _want_ him to?"

"I have no control over what he does."

That was a definite,' _No_.'

If the idea wasn't so absolutely preposterous, I would have sworn that the younger Uchiha had momentarily _pouted_.

Standing alone, the circumstance that I was in was absolutely hilarious. Few people had ever witnessed the child prodigy actually acting like a child before. When paired together with my knowledge of the tragedy that was about to ensue, however, the air seemed much less light hearted to me than it probably did to the two boys.

It was truly harrowing; my mind could barely grasp the fact that this gentle, blushing boy in front of me would forgo his innocence and kill his family—all for the sake of a village that would ultimately fail to protect the brother that he had committed all those atrocious crimes for anyways. Even a reincarnated fuck-up like me couldn't understand how cruelly ironic this boy's future was destined to be.

What frightened me even more, though, was that, if I really thought about it, I couldn't bring myself to condemn the feelings behind the coup. I hardly had the right to fault the clan for the course of action they had decided to take when I had felt that same unquellable rage that motivated them before, too.

People could be so ugly—so _cruel_ —that every bit of me wanted to empathize with the Uchihas. Though they had committed no wrong, the village still turned against them and even had the nerve to accuse them of starting the horrific Kyuubi attack. Could I honestly blame them for feeling anger at a village who had forsaken them despite the sacrifices they had made for that very same village?

The answer, if I allowed myself time to delve deeper into the situation, was no, _especially_ from someone like me. I had experienced the wrath of the village firsthand by growing up with Naruto, and I would be lying if I said I never once thought of retaliating against one of Naruto's many abusers.

"Come on, Itachi, let's go take Mai to where Naruto. Then you'll have an excuse to spend some time with Sasuke while we update Naruto on where Mai's gonna go."

"Mai's going somewhere?" Itachi questioned, ignoring the small insinuation that he wanted an excuse to find his little brother to acknowledge that other tidbit of information. As he asked this, he moved along with Shisui when the boy walked back to where I stood, something that presumably meant, ' _Yes, I will accompany you to find the kids.'_

"Ah, it happened so fast that I probably forgot to tell you! The Hokage wants Mai to go through the academy course with a private instructor, and he ended up choosing me to fulfill that role," Shisui spoke, and now it was _his_ turn to blush.

"Is she…?"

"... No, probably not, thankfully."

I cocked my head to the side, looking at the two of them quizzically, but before I could vocalize my confusion, Shisui had grabbed hold of my hand.

"Let's go find the brats."

"Shisui, _you're_ still a brat," Itachi butted in.

"If I'm still a brat then you _definitely_ are too, Itachi- _kun,_ " Shisui mocked the honorific, turning the mood to a jovial one once more.

"Hn."

The hum of resignation ended the conversation, and we walked towards their training grounds without any further bickerin. Strangely enough, the stillness was now comforting, not alarming. Even Itachi's close proximity didn't set me off. In return, he seemed unbothered by me—apparently my outburst the week before hadn't caused him to question my character _too_ much.

But like it always is, the peace was brought to a premature stop.

"Itachi! Shisui-kun! And… Mai-chan?" a sweet voiced called out to the three of us, causing our trek towards the boys to halt.

Mikoto Uchiha was a refined woman; that much I could tell. Even when enthusiastically waving her hand and making gestures that would usually make one look like an overexcited idiot, she somehow managed to do those silly actions with effortless grace. Had I still been who I was in my past life( _ROsE rosaLiNE rosierOSIE_ _ **ROSIE**_ _?_ ), I might have found her on the receiving end of pointless envy.

But I wasn't whoever I was before—a girl whose name could probably no longer even trigger a feeling of nostalgia if it were uttered.

That girl was dead.

Just as dead as Mikoto would be.

And so instead of senseless jealousy, all that consumed me was unadulterated sorrow at the woman's inevitably looming demise—a tragedy made even more tragic(because the Naruto world didn't already have enough as it is) as the death would come at the hands of the one whose name she had just cried so endearingly.

"Mikoto-san!" Shisui had responded to her greeting in place of Itachi and I—his voice contained enough zeal for all three of us.

"It feels like I haven't seen you in a decade, Shisui-kun! You know you're always welcome in our home!" Mikoto's ardor was incapable of being brought down, even by a notch.

"Kaasan," Itachi spoke flatly, apparently used to his mother's unintentionally overwhelming gentleness—a combination I hadn't known was even possible to have until that very moment.

Despite how saddened I was to see Mikoto while knowing of her future death, Itachi's embarrassment was so out of character that I had to stifle a laugh. Who could have guessed that _Itachi Uchiha_ , the infamous clan genius, was capable of feeling a normal, everyday thing like _embarrassment at your parents_? It was just something so common—so _human_ —that I thought the boy would have been exempt from it by now.

Shisui ignored Itachi's clear annoyance at his mother's familiarity with him, his best friend. "Sorry, Mikoto-san, I've don't meant to be away from the clan for so long. Between this kid and my missions, I've just had my hands full."

I, like I often seemed to do at Shisui's words, blushed as he referenced me. His wording made it sound like Naruto and I were burdens, but there was a distinct lilt of fondness in the way he spoke.

"Ah, speaking of the children, Sasuke-kun was training with his friends, but little Naruto-kun seemed slightly distraught, so I brought them all into our home."

"Distraught?" Shisui and I chorused, entirely focusing our attention on one small part of what she said.

She laughed sweetly at our intense concern over the blond's well-being. "It's nothing dire. Naruto-kun was just sulking over your apparent exit from the academy, Mai-chan." She turned towards me. "Have you perhaps decided that becoming a shinobi isn't something you want to do?"

She wasn't exactly wrong—in fact, she was spot on with that guess(because I _really_ did not want to be a shinobi), but before I could confirm or deny anything, Shisui answered for me.

"Nope. The opposite! Hokage-sama wants to push her towards a quicker graduation, kinda like Itachi and I," he boasted, clearly prideful of my progress despite his limited involvement in it. "But, er, I've kind of been assigned as her sensei."

None of us had made an effort to ensure our conversation was kept hushed, so accidental eavesdropping was inevitable. I wasn't shocked by that. What _did_ take me by surprise was the _extent_ of the response that Shisui's unintentional declaration had garnered. Around us, people suddenly looked much more intrigued as Shisui's new position was revealed to the part of the clan that was present.

" _But doesn't he…"_

" _I thought that…"_

" _...the village's actions…"_

" _Shisui-kun?"_

" _..._ _ **has**_ _to be ANBU!"_

Knowing that all those within hearing proximity were people on _their_ side of the upcoming coup—except for me, though the possibility of _me_ being a threat was eliminated because of age—the surrounding Uchiha made no effort to conceal their overly concerned whispers about Shisui's extended leave in ANBU duties. They needed him to be

If only they knew that Shisui was hardly on their side to begin with.

"Kaasan," Itachi repeated, but this time for an entirely different reason.

"We should hurry and go to the children. There's no telling what kind of mischief little ones like them could get into when left to their own devices," Mikoto bubbled, showing no reaction towards the shift in atmosphere whatsoever.

I shivered; she was _too_ skilled at putting up a farce.

"Come on, Mai, let's go." Shisui let go of my hand and picked me up instead, a small action that showed just how much he wanted to leave too.

With that, we all made our exit from the center of the Uchiha clan's scrutiny. Our pace was as conspicuously brisk as we could make it, something that, to me, said all that needed to be said about their attitudes towards the impending coup. Even if they didn't want to admit it, they were clearly trying to avoid all things related to the rebellion.

And that made things a whole lot more complicated.

How could I let these people die?

* * *

 **Ooooooh boy, Mai's starting to gain a more solid resolve towards what she's gonna do about the massacre. Hehe, I _wonder_ what she'll dooooo.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I tried to make it longer than usual to make up for how long I take to publish them! I really am working on updating faster, though.**

 **Please review, even if you've already reviewed once before. I've said it already, but reviews are what motivate me to write for y'all!**

 **Have a great day. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hehe I updated a little faster than usual, so maybe that makes up for this chapter's slightly shorter length.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Motivated by their want to escape from the Uchiha clan's scrutiny, we barely took a minute to travel through the Uchiha's area of the village. That, in and of itself, further exemplified how little these people wanted confrontation.

With each interaction I had with the more benign charact—people involved in the massacre, my resolve to not change too much grew weaker.

I was fully aware that saving the Uchiha clan was a reach if I had ever seen one, but no sane person could quietly sit by the sidelines and allow for such an ugly event to occur when they had the means to put a stop to it. (But was I ever really someone who could qualify as sane? For fuck's sake, I was the botched reincarnation of some sickly girl who, for as long as she lived the first time around, spent her days floating through life.)

My breath hitched as I thought back to a different me. If I wasn't careful, I'd send myself spiralling into a tangent made of foreign slurs and barely discernible shrieks. The village had already labeled me as a friend of the 'demon', and the Uchiha clan didn't need me having an exorcism-worthy panic attack to further add to their own label as the ones who set the Kyuubi loose.

Thankfully, the scare was cut short by a surprised exclamation from none other than Naruto himself.

"Eh?! Mai? Why are you back here? I thought you were gonna leave!" Naruto shouted, eyebrows furrowed to display a confused expression as he rushed over to where we all stood.

He, from what I could read from his tone of voice, was clearly conflicted at my presence. Though I couldn't understand why, he appeared to be both joyous and upset over why I had returned to pick him up. My own face mirrored his as I mulled over this. Did the kid really not want me there that badly?

"Naruto-kun, why don't you tell me again why you're upset?" Mikoto suggested helpfully, clearly seeing that a misunderstanding was beginning to form.

"W-Well," Naruto started, blushing at the attention from Sasuke's good natured mother, "Mai has to go train to be an amazing ninja! The old man wants her to train by herself, I heard, but this dummy came here instead. She can't be strong if she's with me!"

I could barely suppress my want to give Naruto the tightest hug I could muster—I'd strangle the poor kid if I did—so I settled for a faint blush to adorn my cheeks instead.

Shisui had the honor of explaining to Naruto what the Hokage really(but not the deeper really) meant by his proposal for me. "Naruto, the Hokage just wants Mai to train with me while you're at school, but you guys will still have time together after, and probably whenever I'm needed for a mission, too. There's no way she'd agree to leave you behind."

"So you're not gonna go forever?" Naruto asked innocently, looking at me in the eye for the first time since I had gotten there.

A sharp pang hit my heart as I noticed how red his eyes were—an obvious sign of his recent tears.

"Of course not." The kid was just too cute for his own good.

Red flushed his cheeks as he understood that he had misinterpreted what Shisui and I had meant when we had told him about my 'promotion', of sorts. "Oh. I see," he mumbled.

"N-Naruto-kun, why'd you run out like that?" a familiarly soft voice asked, concern evident in the way they spoke.

"Hinata-chan?" I made no effort to say her name in a babyish way—I was too surprised by her sudden entrance. Hadn't Naruto only come here with Sasuke and Shikamaru? I had no intentions of sounding rude, but my initial dismay at her appearance could not be hidden.

"A-Ah! Mai-chan! Is it true that you're gonna be leaving us soon?" she inquired, disappointment obvious in her downcast face.

"Er, yes—sort of. There was a misunderstanding." Making a real effort at forcing my lips to contort themselves into a smile-like expression, I gave the Hyuuga my signature faux grin. "You guys are still gonna see me around. You can't get rid of me that easily."

Before she got the chance to relay a response, another high-pitched voice joined the fray. "Mai! You're here! Naruto told us you wouldn't be coming anymore." Once again I was overcome with surprise at the sight of the perky Yamanaka. "I was so sad! I hadn't said thanks for beating the crap outta Billboard yet!"

My heart sank when I recognized the hint of fondness in the way she spoke. However brash her sentences were, there was no mistaking the soft lilt that often came along with conversations concerning good friends. Hinata, too, had seemed wholeheartedly upset at my disappearance from their lives. The situation couldn't have been more fucked up.

Here I was, standing in the middle of the Uchiha compound with the members of the Rookie Nine who shouldn't have been as close until at least half a decade later. Too many things were speeding up, and though I had already resolved to make some tweaks to the timeline, too many changes would spell disaster for the lives of the people that I had so carelessly grown so fond of. I couldn't afford to get this involved with them this early on.

For the first time since the opportunity had been offered to me, I felt every fiber of my being feel grateful towards the Hokage for inadvertently getting me a free pass out of a precarious situation.

I had to disappear—if only for a little while.

"No, I'm not gonna be vanishing just yet," I lied, but froze as I let a word a little too far beyond my vocabulary slip. "I mean, I'm not gonna go leave Naruto. Anyways, where is Sakura-chan?"

Ino huffed at my mention of the pink-haired girl, while the adults took my interactions with the children as a chance to slip away from the group. Before I could insist on following them, they had already made it inside—probably going somewhere to privately discuss how fucked they were now that Shisui was being removed from his post. Instead of following to eavesdrop as I usually did, I was left to deal with Ino's fuming exclamations.

"Sakura said she wouldn't come! We ran into Sasuke-kun and the other boys after our kunoichi lessons, and Naruto invited all of us over—probably 'cause he has a crush on Sakura-chan, y'know—but Billboard said no! Hinata's had a crush on Naruto since forever, so she obviously said yes—even though her Hyuuga bodyguard looked pretty mad about that—and I obviously wanted to see Sasuke-kun so I said yes, and that's how we got here without the dumb Billboard," Ino babbled, and I felt as if I'd be knocked over by the sheer amount of words she had just thrown at me. Talk about an overload of information!

"I-I see," I mumbled, momentarily adopting the Hyuuga heiress' characteristic stutter.

"Hey! Why ya' gotta go talking about how I feel about Sakura-chan like that?" Naruto hollered, now just as aggravated at Ino. He seemed to have tuned out the bit about Hinata's own feelings for him.

Meanwhile Hinata, who had also overheard Ino's rant, promptly turned a cherry red. Surprisingly, though, she didn't faint. "I-Ino!"

"What? It wasn't a secret," she defended herself, causing both parties to turn an even deeper shade of whatever color their faces had taken on—now almost purple from how hard they were blushing.

In contrast, my expression remained passive. My mind was to preoccupied with the strange development. Regardless of their rivalry over Sasuke, Sakura and Ino should have still maintained a rocky but nonetheless prevalent friendship. Perhaps it was just my chronic sense of paranoia at work, but Sakura seemed to be deviating from her role in the original timeline.

And that was bad news.

"N-Naruto, let's go find Shisui." I gave no regard to them being in the midst of a conversation as I nervously tried to distract myself by preoccupying my mind with an insistent need to find our guardian.

"U-Uh, okay," Naruto stuttered back, sensing what little hint of anxiety that had leaked into my voice. He had grown too sensitive—too attuned to my feelings. Naruto, too, was someone that I'd have to find escape from. I couldn't afford to ruin the future of the one person who was fated to save the world.

As Naruto and I began to move inside, Hinata's soft voice could be faintly heard behind us. "Ino-san, let's return b-back to where Uchiha-san and the others are."

I flinched as I, once again, became acutely aware of Hinata's subtle change. Her stutter was significantly less prominent, and her newfound friendship with the boys in the Rookie Nine was definitely not something that had developed in the original Naruto story. How the hell did everything get so muddled?

"Mai, why are ya bein' so, y'know, weird?" Naruto's childishly impudent way of speaking gave me a brief escape from the horror that had creeped its way into my mind after witnessing that unambiguous display of how fucked I had made everything.

We had made it into the house and past the living room, yet I still could not shake my ill feelings about my current situation.

"No reason, I'm just nervous to train with Shisui," I fibbed.

"You're training with Shisui?!"

"What? You broke the news to him first? And here I was hoping that I'd get the honor of doing that!"

Naruto and I yelped in unison as Shisui appeared behind us, placing his hands on our heads. I cranked my head to the side to make eye contact with the amiable Uchiha whose carefree attitude seemed just a little forced.

For Naruto, this was a cute gesture—a funny prank of some sorts. For me, it was a warning; Shisui was keeping as careful of a watch on me now as I had kept on him. Whether it was due to Itachi exposing my odd behavior towards him a few days back, or simply the Hokage's uncharacteristic involvement in how my future with developed, none of it mattered. In the end, the only thing that held any weight was the fact that he was doing it at all. I knew there were no ill intentions behind his upped sense of security, but I couldn't help but feel cornered.

I hadn't been stealthy enough, and now I was about to pay for it.

"C'mon, guys. Tomorrow's our first day training, so it's best if you get a good night's rest."

Naruto pouted as I nodded.

"Ah, I'll still be taking you to school, though, Naruto," Shisui added as a side note, reassuring the blond.

"I wasn't worried about that at all!" Naruto denied vehemently, but the tinge of red on his cheeks betrayed his desperate denial.

And like that, together we walked out the back of the main clan house, neither of us getting a chance to bid the other members of the household goodbye. There was a sense of urgency as we stepped out of the home, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out the purpose behind such tense actions until we stepped onto one of the busier roads.

We had been in the house for no more than half an hour, yet in that time, the news of Shisui's new role as my sensei had spread like wildfire. We all remained impassive—Naruto and I had gotten accustomed to prolonged stares, while Shisui had been professionally conditioned to adorn never betray how he truly felt.

By the time we reached the apartment complex, we were all too overwhelmed with a sense of relief to really address anything else. My strange conduct received no further scrutiny, and both Shisui and I felt no need to put up a farce inside the home. Naruto had been oblivious to the situation, but even his nervousness had peaked as we became the Uchiha clan's favorite topic to discuss.

I hadn't even noticed how fearful Shisui looked before we all were out like a light.

* * *

 **Sooooo this is the last "slow chapter"! Things definitely start getting a little action-y in the next, and Mai will find herself in even deeper shit!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter despite its length!**

 **Please review! I was so overwhelmed with happiness by your guys' response last time. Seriously, seeing that review email makes my day.**

 **Have a good evening!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

 _Kick._

A kick far too strong to be received by a child is bestowed onto me, courtesy of a madly disappointed Uchiha. I'm blown back a few yards, skipping along the dirt floor like a pebble across a lake.

 _Punch._

Begrudgingly, I retaliated, lunging at him with the grace of a bull.

He didn't dodge.

Instead, he chose to endure (a stretch of a word if I've ever seen one) the blow and caught my fist with his abdomen. I flinched back, gaining more damage from my own attack (if you could call it one) than he did.

He sighed. "Mai, your attacks are nowhere near the standard needed to even become a genin. Do you really _want_ to graduate early?"

Before I could reply, he appeared immediately in front of me, reaching for the back of my altered kimono to pull me up to eye level. A sense of pure humiliation overwhelmed me. I grinded my teeth. "Not particularly, no."

"Then why are you here?"

For the first time since I've started to train with Shisui, I heard real wonder in his voice. The manner in which he spoke held no ill feelings—just pure curiosity at why I was vacant of the prodigal skills that I was _supposed_ to have had. This was all Iruka's damn fault. He had jumped the gun after witnessing my above par observational skills, and he had failed to notice that I lacked the strength, speed, dexterity, and basically _every damn thing_ that was required of me to become a successful kunoichi.

My patience waned, and—unfortunately for Shisui—the innocent Uchiha became the victim of my spite.

"Why am I here? _Why am I here_?" I repeated his question not once, but twice, to emphasize just how absolutely fed up I was. "I'm here because, nine months ago, a certain Hokage had a secret agenda that he needed to have pushed forward, and even though I'm not privy to any of his motivations, I'm still a goddamn part of this absurd plan despite the fact that I am completely and utterly void of anything that could resemble the makings of a great nin."

Shisui looked baffled.

"That's why I'm here," I added the finishing touch.

My exasperated rant didn't serve to silence the Uchiha for even a _minute_. "That was brutal, Mai," he laughed. "But anyways, let's move on from sparring for today." His resolve to properly train me hadn't faltered in the slightest after my outburst.

"Medical training. You liked it a lot when I taught you how to care for an injured nin, right?" He smiled at my sudden complacency with the continuation of our lesson.

The frustration that had bubbled over was now completely washed away. He was absolutely correct with his guess. I was the most attentive during the rare occasion where he _didn't_ focus solely on improving my nonexistent combat skills. My strength, for now, lay mainly in my ability to think, and thinking was vital to the delicate art of healing. It wasn't for any reason that he could deduce, though.

It was simply my best shot at saving him.

Nine months had passed since my reluctant agreement to leave the Academy, yet I still felt as weak as ever. Sure, I had learned the basics of ninjutsu, and my taijutsu skills were far beyond what anyone my age at the academy could dream of achieving at their current age, but that wasn't saying much. It would've been abnormal if I _hadn't_ momentarily surpassed my peers with Shisui as my personal sensei. Despite his best efforts, though, I showed not even a glimpse of a genius-level growth rate. If things had gone as the Hokage and Iruka had predicted, I should've been beyond genin level by now.

But I wasn't.

So my focus vacated from learning flashy ninjutsu and taijutsu, and instead zeroed onto a much more humble section of the shinobi world. Medic training.

The Uchiha Massacre couldn't have been more than a couple weeks away, and the helplessness I felt was suffocating. Soon—far sooner than I was comfortable with—Shisui would have to face Danzo, and no amount of berating from the kind kid would give me enough power to even _think_ of engaging in combat with the twisted root of Konoha.

The only thing that seemed possible with my current level of skill was to try my damndest at preventing Shisui's death _after_ their battle.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you like that," I mumbled. "Please continue to teach me how to become a powerful shinobi." _Please continue to help me get strong enough to save you._

Shisui's lips twisted themselves into that adoringly soft smile that I had grown so accustomed to over the past year. He placed me back down onto the ground and squatted to meet me at _my_ eye level. The hand that had effortlessly plucked me off of the ground now settled gently on top of my head. "Why would I ever not? You just haven't hit your shinobi growth spurt yet, that's all. But you know, I'll never understand how'd you learn how to talk all proper like that. Not even Sasuke-kun puts that much effort into sounding like an adult."

 _Like an adult?_ I almost chuckled. While my appearance might have suggested otherwise, I _was_ an adult.

He stood up again, now grasping my wrist. Tugging on it, he coaxed me towards the porch that faced the Uchiha training grounds.

I was still panting from the harsh training he had just subjected me to. Not even the first few sessions with him had caused me to feel so winded, yet the urgency that came with his instructing made perfect sense to me. Shinobi were rarely the epitome of optimism, and Shisui was no exception to their often grave attitudes. He was well aware of the fact that his time with me—his time _alive—_ was likely limited.

The past nine months had bore witness to a drastic change in the attitudes of the Uchiha. Though they had already seemed quite strange before, their odd behavior had skyrocketed in the past month or so. They, too, felt the pressure of what they thought would be their coup, and I couldn't help but adopt their nervous attitudes, seeing as the majority of my time was now spent putting up an innocuous farce while occupying what was unofficially their territory.

Their fear—and their sentiments—had gradually rubbed off on me.

"Mai, are you listening?" Shisui snapped his fingers in front of my face.

"Er, yes," I lied.

He sighed, but I could still hear the endearing lilt to the exhausted noise. "As I was saying, I picked up a few books from the Uchiha library about medical training. It's nothing much—just a few tips that our predecessors had found to be useful—and a lot of it may be too specific to caring for solely Uchiha, but I figured you might find _some_ interest in it."

I could barely believe my ears. "N-No, I don't mind if it's specialized to the Uchiha at al! Am I only allowed to read it here?"

Shisui beamed at my enthusiasm and scratched the back of his head as he prepared to break the news to me. "Actually, I got permission to take the books out of the main compound and have them at the apartment." He paused then and somehow enlarged his grin. "It's kind of a shoddy present since you can't exactly keep it and all, so forgive me for that, but happy birthday, Mai."

I flushed a deep red at his sweet gesture. Though the nine months I had spent being trained by him had effectively rendered me immune to his boyish charm, this was an exception. "Thank you," I choked out through barely concealed tears.

"Mai! It's not really a good gift, you really don't have to cry." He could hardly hide the panic that was creeping into his tone.

I couldn't exactly correct him and tell him that I was weeping over the fact that he'd _die_ in no more than a few weeks if I failed to devise a plan. All I could muster was a weak nod.

He kept up the jovial expression. "Now, let's go home. Naruto's missed being around you, since you always end up sleeping after our training sessions."

I wilted at this misconstrued statement. There was not even a single time where I had crashed the moment we got back to the apartment, I just simply pretended to hole myself up whenever Naruto got home, and hid under the guise of faux exhaustion. My resolve to stay as distant from Naruto and his friends as I could had remained strong over the past nine months, despite how much I had grown to enjoy the kid's company. I was wholly surprised at how difficult it was for me to ignore Naruto's complaints to Shisui about how absent we'd been from his life.

It was in his best interest.

But tonight—just for tonight—I could tolerate putting up false pretenses for Naruto and his friends. After all, Naruto had been the one to set this all up.

"Naruto told you today was my birthday, right, Shisui?" I asked to confirm my suspicions.

Shisui hesitated, but then relented. "Yes, but don't get mad at—"

"It's not true," I abruptly interrupted him before he could speak in place of Naruto. The gesture was sweet; I wasn't going to get mad. "It's not true," I repeated.

"What?"

"September 17th is just the day I met Naruto. I had lied to him and told him that I couldn't quite recall my birthday, and he decided that our meeting day would take its place. I was born on May 11th." I had stopped crying. "I lied because I thought he wouldn't get attached to me if he didn't know anything about me."

I blinked and paused, as if I had finally regained my senses. I didn't understand why I had felt the need to spill so much useless information about myself—maybe because, deep down inside, I still only regarded these kind people as characters whose lives were still not quite yet _real_ to me. "Anyways, let's head back. Naruto's waiting there with his friends, isn't he?"

"Mai…" Shisui seemed to not want to let the conversation go, but to be fair, I wouldn't have either.

"Let's head back," I reiterated through clenched teeth.

Talking about things like possible ulterior motives of mine had put me on edge, and for the life of me I couldn't understand _why_ I had let such precarious words slip from my tongue. It was as if something about the topic—something about _birthdays_ —had triggered a rabid reaction from me.

 _(It was at my birthday party—a wild one at that—when I died. With ever so loved friends surrounding me, I swiftly transitioned from someone who_ _ **is**_ _to someone who_ _ **was.**_ _I_ _ **am**_ _twenty one_ **.** _I_ _ **was**_ _twenty onE tWeNTYOne_ _ **only**_ _TW_ _ **ENTY ONE.)**_

I pushed the eery sense of dread to the back of my mind, and, judging by the reinstated look of excitement that appeared on his face, Shisui did too. If I hadn't _literally_ seen his mouth move along with the words, I probably would have never thought that Shisui had whispered such a sentence. " _Mai, you don't have to tell me now, but I'll know the truth eventually._ "

* * *

 **I told y'all things would be speeding up!**

 **D: I noticed a crazy drop in response from you guys, and I'd love if you could review and tell me why.**

 **I hope this speed up in pacing is a nice surprise for you guys, but forgive me for the length of this chapter. The Uchiha massacre is coming so close! Are you guys nervous?**

 **Please review, I'd greatly appreciate it.**

 **Have a great day!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry for the long wait, guys! I'm overwhelmed with the amount of love I got from y'all from the last chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Tattered geta sandals slam against a dirt road.

"Mai, why are we walking so fast? I'm tired, damnit," Naruto whined, reluctantly keeping up with my stride.

I forced a smile. "I forgot some stuff at the training ground. I want to drop you off at home so I can go back and get." The excuse was weak, and both Naruto and I were well aware of it.

"Okay," he relented, catching onto the urgency in my movements. The boy might have been carefree, but he sure as hell wasn't unobservant.

I had every right to be on edge, though.

Shisui was about to die.

The night of my 'birthday' had gone smoothly enough, save for the glares I'd received from the children's guardians after the fact. For the first time since I'd come to consciousness in this new world, I had felt thankful for the company I had come to have.

And then Shisui made his innocuous request.

"Mai, if it isn't too much trouble, could you go and pick up Naruto from the Academy in two days? I'm cancelling our training session for that day, but we'll go back to our usual routine after."

Dread settled in my stomach. "Why?"

Shisui raised an eyebrow at how taken aback I seemed. I couldn't blame him for feeling confused, though—what he had asked of me was a rather simple favor. The wariness in my tone was nothing short of irrational. "It's nothing that will keep me away for long." His smile seemed strained now. "Lord Danzo has asked to have a meeting with me."

My breath hitched, but there was little I could do to warn him of the looming threat of his death. He had no reason to question Danzo's intentions—any word of caution would only sound like the ramblings of a mad man. I had to act casual. "O-Okay, yeah. I can take Naruto home."

He seemed perplexed at the drastic change in my attitude but didn't comment on it. "Okay, thank you."

He eyeballed my figure—catching a glimpse of my unintentional change in body language. My stance had shifted so much so that I seemed to be collapsing into myself, as if I were hiding from something that Shisui could not see. When he came to the conclusion that he could do little to comfort me, he gave a small sigh. "You should get to bed."

I nodded in agreeance—accepting the out he had given me. "I should."

That night, it took every bit of self-control I had accumulated over two lifespans to prevent a nervous breakdown from happening. Sure, I had run through scenarios in my head hundreds of times since I had resolved to save the poor boy from his Fate, but now that the event was unnervingly close, I could not ignore the panic—the fear— that ran through every inch of my body.

And now that fear was becoming a reality.

Two days had passed with me holed up in the tiny apartment that I had come to call a home. Two days spent with my nose buried into the various books Shisui had borrowed from the Uchiha library. Beating Danzo was impossible—that was a fact. Out smarting him, though? Now that I could try to pull off.

"Mai, do you want me to with you back to the… field?" Naruto scrunched his eyebrows together as we arrived at the apartment complex. His concern was endearing, but I had no time to waste.

Once again, I obscured my anxiety with a grin. "Yeah! I'm fine on my own. See ya later, Naruto!" I spoke hurriedly, shoving him into the home and slamming the door shut before he could speak a word of protest.

The sun was already setting, and by now the attack would have begun. From what I could recall, their confrontation started at dusk. I wasn't too worried about making it anywhere before dark, though. I had no intentions of intruding into their fight—I still had some inklings of sanity left in me. It'd be outright suicidal of me to jump into a battle involving two men who had the physical prowess to become Hokage.

No, going to the site of their altercation would be pointless.

I hadn't lied to Naruto; I really was going to the training grounds—just not in the area I was usually in.

The Naka river ran through the little corner of the village that the Uchiha had unwillingly been pushed into. I had been there a few times—during rare occasions where Shisui felt too tired to instruct me for a full day, and chose to bring me to the little waterway instead. In the daylight, the place seemed breathtakingly beautiful, but I had never been able to fully appreciate its charm. I had recognized it at first glance—understood that this was where the Shisui's life would come to an end if I didn't act quickly enough. There was no place in my heart to appreciate the natural beauty of it when all I could see was the sight of Shisui ripping his eye out on the cliff's edge.

Now more than ever, I dreaded the sight of that place.

As I neared the river, I felt a wave of horror wash over me. There had been a sharp flicker in chakra, and then the potent power vanished. There was no doubt about it—it had to be Shisui and Itachi.

I urged my legs to move faster, forcing myself at the cost of my lungs to make it through the rest of the training ground. I was approaching it from the far side of the area—to the right of where Shisui and Itachi stood.

Any concern for my own well-being had been pushed to the back of my mind as every precious moment I had ever had with the Uchiha came forward. All the times he had meticulously bandaged my scrapes from a particularly rough training session. All the times he had consulted the other senseis on how to be a proper one for me, thinking I would never find out. All the times he has shielded Naruto and I from the scrutiny of the village. He was too kind—too gentle to have been caught up in the coup.

If I let him die now, I'd never forgive myself.

The mere thought of him perishing in such a cruel way instilled even more vigor into my sprint. My mind and body only focused on one objective—keeping Shisui alive, so much so that I never noticed the moment the sandals had fallen off of my feet, or when the deep gash in my exposed thigh had appeared.

In that moment, not a single thing could stop me from saving that boy.

For the first time since I had been reborn into this strange world, I felt desperation for someone other than myself. My mind had always revolved on figuring out ways to prevent myself from dying an untimely death(again), but now here I was, tossing myself into a deeply rooting conflict that I could never dream of solving on my own—and all for the sake of a person who I'd already known would die! How earnestly I wanted to prevent the boy from proceeding with events that could have been set in stone surprised even me.

Finally, I broke through the large cluster of trees, shaking from head to toe due to heavy breathing and dripping with sweat. My mind scanned the horizon for the two boys, and, just as I had feared, they were both exactly where they were supposed to be.

My existence had done nothing to convince Shisui to live on despite Danzo's treachery.

Their conversation echoed throughout the ravine below us. They made no effort to conceal the words they were exchanging, not even noticing my presence there with them. As useful as the sharingan was for tracking, it did little to alert them when their minds were whirring with the knowledge of Konoha's deep seeded darkness. Itachi's face remained stoic as Shisui spoke, and Shisui's face seemed resigned.

"Make sure Mai and Naruto aren't too sad, okay?"

There was a change, then—the first slight difference in the way things should have gone. Instead of a vocalized hope that entrusted the affair into Itachi's hands, what Shisui had chose as his final words focused around two people who had never been relevant at this time in the story. What little breath I had caught in my throat as what Shisui had said processed through my head.

Tears welled up as I backed up, making a final decision, too.

Shisui stepped backwards, both eyelids closed and bloodied. I leaned forward, knees bent to split the skin even further than it already had been from the harsh trip to the river. His feet left the ground, and he plunged over the edge. Just like last time, Itachi surged forward, reaching out a hand that never got to grasp Shisui's own.

Unlike last time, however, I was sent plummeting from the cliff too—courtesy of my own rash thinking.

I clenched my jaw, squeezing my eyes shut as I braced for the impact of Shisui and I's bodies.

The collision did not dissatisfy my expectations.

As we clashed, the harsh sound snapping bones was heard throughout the ravine, echoing off of its walls. Shisui gave a startled cry, but, though his vision was gone, he immediately recognized me. Normally, Shisui would have grasped hold of the situation by now, but the lack of a sharingan had put his control over chakra off balance. Still, though he had just comprehended me being there, he instinctively grabbed hold of me, twisting our bodies so that he would take the brunt of the damage if we were to hit the water. "Mai!"

I refused to allow him to save me. I had already come this far, now I definitely couldn't allow him to sacrifice himself. I would not let my efforts be wasted.

I pushed myself out of his grasp and caught his arm, pulling upwards with every bit of strength that resided in me so that he was not the one who nearest to the water. As I did this, I pumped chakra into the bottoms of my feet. The plan my mind had thought up of on the spot was deeply flawed, but this much I could manage to do. I had been taught how to walk effectively on water before—one of the rare lessons taught to me by Shisui that I had been successful at—but never had I had to do so under such pressuring conditions. If an imminent, looming death hadn't been such a real threat, I'd like to think I would've saved the both of us rather smoothly.

Unfortunately, life is never that easy.

My feet hit the river first, as I had intended, and sparked an explosion on impact from an overload of chakra. Once again, Shisui and I were sent into the air, though this time for a considerably smaller fall. He didn't flinch at the burns he had received from the explosion—a harsh contrast to the pained yowl that slipped from my mouth as my legs felt as if they'd been set on fire by the devil himself. Shisui took charge of our predicament now, pulling me out of the radius of the blast to minimize the damage.

We ended up being tossed onto the river bank at the bottom of ravine, bruised and battered but still breathing. We sat there in silence, working on calming our rapid-fire heartbeats while my shoulders shook with labored breathing. I could barely believe it.

I had made it in time.

In that instant, though, I was given no opening to rejoice in that fact, as Shisui spoke up. "You knew."

It wasn't said in an accusatory manner—just stated matter-of-factly. Any defense I could have possibly mustered in the heat of the moment would have been feeble at best. I was not deranged enough to think that I could successfully fool an ANBU operative without meticulous planning. All I could do was give a slight hum in confirmation—I was tired of deceiving Shisui.

"Mai! Shisui!" Itachi called out in disbelief, suddenly appearing beside us.

"I-Itachi," I stuttered in response. My plan had been quickly thrown together with an end goal of saving Shisui—nothing more, nothing less. I hadn't even begun to consider how I'd explain my convenient presence in their training ground, especially not to someone as keen as Itachi.

"What are you doing here? What did you hear?" He showed no relief over his best friend's survival, choosing instead to aggressively grab hold of my wrist and tug me towards me, practically suspending me off of the ground.

I whimpered and tried to pull away, but to no avail. His panic was wholly justified, though. For all he knew, I was about to expose his entire clan for things I had overheard while he had been too caught up in processing his best friend's suicide to pay attention to the small flicker of chakra approaching the two of them.

But understanding his fear wouldn't halt him from disposing of me as a counteractive measure.

Fear clouded my thoughts as any possible reasonable explanation slipped my mind. I had to come clean. "I-I just—"

"Itachi, put her down," Shisui spoke hoarsely.

"But what if she—" Itachi tried to object, obviously wary of the potential repercussions of their conversation being eavesdropped on by a possibly mouthy child.

"Mai! What are ya' doing down there? Did you find that book you left over here yet?!" I froze at the sound of Naruto's voice being carried down from above us—a reaction I shared with both Shisui and Itachi.

He had somehow followed me.

The kid was stealthy, that much I knew. A few years from now, he'd be the bane of all ANBU operatives' existences—somehow escaping their wrath after his infamous pranks. But even so, the skill needed to pull off a prank was nowhere near the level required to obscure your presence from two monstrously powerful men, especially when you had the chakra of a raging Kyuubi in you.

Naruto's appearance was puzzling, to say the least, but I was nonetheless grateful for his role in keeping my secret, well, a secret.

"No! I haven't found it yet!" I shouted back, ignoring the pangs of pain that grew worse by the second.

Itachi and Shisui were both dead silent, neither of them wanting to speak up and risk Naruto coming down. Shisui had his back turned to where Naruto stood now, obscuring the sockets where his eyes once were in the shadows. All of us knew we couldn't afford to have Naruto know anymore about the coup than the rest of the village did—as in, being privy to nothing at all.

"Do ya want me to go down there and help ya?" Naruto asked.

I stiffened. There was something off about the way Naruto was speaking. It wasn't something the two Uchiha boys would be able to notice—they had spent nowhere near the amount of time required to know Naruto as well as I did—but it confirmed everything I didn't want to know.

Naruto had overheard much more than any of us had wanted him to.

"N-No! Shisui and I have more than enough manpower to look for it on our own! Go back to the apartment, Naruto! We'll meet you there!" Go back home, this isn't something you can be dragged into.

"Are you sure?" Are you gonna be okay without me there?

"Yeah! I'll be fine!" I'll manage.

An audible sigh of relief was heard from Shisui as the rustling of leaves indicated that Naruto had left. Itachi, on the other hand, remained unmoving. Before he could go and decide to off me for knowing of their situation, I jumped into action.

I hadn't gone into this thing completely clueless, after all.

"Itachi! Summon the crow that you embedded Shisui's eye in!" I momentarily threw away all qualms I had once had over keeping my identity a secret—I could worry about it later. Right now, though, I had a bigger issue to worry about.

"What?" he asked, and for a second I swore I saw panic flicker in his eyes—his first break in the cold mask he had learned to put up from his years in ANBU.

I grit my teeth. We didn't have time to waste.

"Summon your crow! If we want Shisui to ever see again, we have to reimplant his eye now, before it's too late!"

"W-What?" he repeated, now completely baffled.

Tears of frustration threatened to fall. I was completely at my wit's end, and Shisui was going to have to pay for it with his sight. At this point, I was a millisecond away from throwing myself onto my knees and pleading.

Shisui had been uncharacteristically quiet—a reaction that probably came from a mix of shock and blood loss. His head lolled back, and in the moments of silence between Itachi and I's bickering, the sound of his raspy breathing could be heard. Blood trickled down his face, and once again terror froze me in place. It was all too real—too graphic.

Shisui was gonna die.

And then he piped up.

"Itachi… give her… the eye," he painstakingly spit out, startling both of us.

"But Shisui—"

"Itachi."

Itachi turned to me, his facade now completely broken. He was on the brink of hysteria. "Mai… can you really save Shisui?"

His hand waved to summon the crow, but the entire time his eyes were focused on me.

I steadied my breathing, intent on showing the two that I was absolutely calm enough to perform such a feat. My eyelids closed for a moment, allowing me to recollect myself before reopening.

"Yes."

* * *

 **Dun dun dunnn! What do you guys think? Will Mai be able to save Shisui's eye? Or will she only be able to save his life? :0 So many you guys enjoy the chapter?  
**

 **Leave a review if you have the chance! I'd love it if we could hit 85 reviews with this chapter! I'm so thankful for every one of y'all who left a comment last time.**

 **I send my love! Have a great day!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Holy cow! You guys took my review goal and smashed it! I love y'all!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

Itachi and I sat face to face, the two of us on opposing sides of a makeshift cot. Between us laid Shisui, unconscious but breathing—just barely.

But things weren't looking good.

Shisui had been poisoned by Danzo during the fight. I needed to get his eye back into its socket, and Itachi needed to go force the antidote out of whichever subordinate Danzo had commanded to poison him—and _fast_.

It was now or never.

With a heart beating too rapidly and hands shaking too erratically, Itachi snatched my chakra-coated hand away from Shisui's face before I could even make the first incision. Internally, I deflated with relief, but externally, I forced myself to look at him quizzically.

"You're too nervous," he commented, hand still crushing my own.

He wasn't wrong—far from it, in fact—but if I wasn't the one to get Shisui's eyeball back into his head, then who would? Taking him to the hospital was out of the question. Danzo's ties within the village ran too deep, and coming back into Konoha with a living Shisui would get all three of us on Danzo's personal hitlist—something that three outcasts couldn't exactly afford. Between two boys who were part of the clan that was still blamed for the Kyuubi attack, a girl who was essentially the adopted sister of the boy who held the very same Kyuubi inside of him, and Danzo, it was obvious who the villagers would believe.

If we wanted to help Shisui, we'd have to do it ourselves.

"Itachi, we can't _not_ do this," I pleaded, my voice plagued with desperation while I futilely tried to tug my hand away.

"I know," he agreed, yet his grip didn't falter. "Mai, let me do it."

The statement is so odd—so surprising—that I stop my fruitless struggle with the Uchiha. With eyes like saucers, I gazed directly at him. My heart felt lightened with renewed hope. "You know how to do the operation?"

"No, but you do, right?" he inquired, sounding redundant.

"Yes, hypothetically," I confirmed, still not quite understanding what he was getting at.

"Teach me," he demanded. "Show me how to do it, and I'll be able to save Shisui's eye."

Finally he let go of me, and I reeled back. Had the boy lost his damn mind? At most, we had an hour left before it was too late to reconnect the nerve endings. I had barely gotten the gist of how to do it in two sleepless days, and that was _with_ the knowledge I had accumulated throughout my past life as a pre-med student. "We don't have _time_ for me to teach you. Itachi, I have to do this now."

"No, we do have the time."

Once again, the boy had completely lost me. "What do you mean?"

"I just—When I—Shisui—" He paused to recollect himself, clearly too distraught to string together a concise explanation. He was feeling the pressure of time, too. "When I saw Shisui fall over the edge, I activated an advanced form of the sharingan. It gives me a way to manipulate time, almost. It's a bit risky since it is my first time using it, but if you'd allow me to, I could use it to cast a genjutsu on you that would make it so that hours can appear to pass within a few seconds. It's called the—"

"Tsukuyomi," I murmured, finishing the explanation for him.

He seemed surprised that I knew of it, but made no move to interrogate me on my above-average knowledge of the Uchiha clan. We didn't have time for any of that nonsense.

But still, I hesitated.

It wasn't that I didn't care enough for Shisui to not allow myself to undergo tsukuyomi. It's the fact that I knew exactly just how horribly things could turn under such a powerful genjutsu. If _Kakashi_ had nearly lost his mind to it, there was no telling how much of a toll it'd take on me if _I_ experienced it, and—unless my presence in the Naruto universe had changed a _helluva_ lot more things in the timeline than I had initially thought—Tsunade wouldn't be here to help pull me from the brink of insanity on the off chance that I _did_ survive the jutsu in the first place.

But it was Shisui's life on the line here. There was no way Itachi trusted me enough to do the procedure without him there, but the clock was ticking, and—if Shisui's steadily shortening breaths were a telling sign of anything—the poison was already going into effect. He needed the antidote soon, or else it would be too late.

I had to do it.

I breathed in deeply, bracing myself for it. He looked at me expectantly, and I nodded to confirm that I was consenting. "Okay."

It wasn't painful—not even slightly. One moment we were huddled in an abandoned area that still hadn't been rebuilt after the Kyuubi attack, and the next moment I found myself completely surrounded by a blindingly bright red.

Red skies. Red clouds. Everything was red, save for Itachi and I. The ground we sat on was eerily similar to what I had seen during my time in Oblivion—a black completely void of everything, even a simple reflection of light.

It was like an acid trip gone awfully wrong, but there wasn't a moment to spare for marvelling at the novelty of it all.

"Mai, tell me the basics of what I have to do."

Happily, I complied.

"It's not all that complicated, but it needs very, very precise movements. I'm sure you have more than enough experience with chakra control to do it, though. Just use tiny increments of chakra to infuse the places where nerve separations happened. The trick is just connecting the right ones together."

"I see… and the reason this would be impossible to learn over the course of an hour or so is because I'd have to learn the placement of the nerve endings, right?"

"Yes." I nodded, thought I didn't really understand why details like that were important at such a dire time.

"But surely it'd take more than a few days, correct?"

I nodded again, but my movement was now significantly slower than compared to before. I had a sneaking suspicion about what he was trying to get me to validate, and I was about to be absolutely screwed if I was right.

"So when did you start learning, Mai? Shisui only gave you those medicinal focused books a few days ago, and I'm the one who helped him choose them for you. Unless I've gone senile, those books never once mentioned nerve endings, or anything of the sort. Where did you learn all these things, Mai?"

Itachi was standing now, towering over me while I drew back. Somehow, within the span of a few minutes, he had become an enemy—one I had no chance of escaping from. I was under his genjutsu and stuck in his territory. If I wanted to avoid the very same torture I had once witnessed through a TV screen, I'd have to start talking.

"I've had… past experiences with medical training," I said, not technically _lying_ , but just being vague.

"You're six."

I swallowed nervously. "Yes, I'm six."

"And you've already had previous encounters with things concerning nerve endings?" he asked incredulously.

"... Yes," I replied, knowing damn well it wasn't an answer that would render me free of the boy's impromptu interrogation session.

For a brief moment, he stopped his ruthless questioning of the inconsistencies of my existence. Instead, he focused on simply observing my actions—the way my eyes avoided his gaze (as they've done ever since our first meeting), the peculiar way I tenaciously chewed on my lip (an oral fixation I had developed while attempting to quit my smoking addiction in my past life).

"Who are you?"

I calmed my breathing. "I'm Mai, Naruto's adopted sister."

"Who are you?" he reiterated, taking a step towards me.

"I _told_ you. I'm _Mai_." I insisted, shrinking further into myself with every movement he made.

"You've always been an odd child. Do you recall that outburst we had when we had crossed paths on the way to the Academy? The other kids flock to you, yet you strategically avoid them. That would suggest that perhaps you simply don't enjoy others' company, yet you're always overjoyed around Shisui and Naruto. If it's not the children themselves that you're avoiding, then what is it? Your vocabulary, too, is suspiciously high-level. You were asked to receive private tutoring from Shisui because you showed some promise, yet you've shown no remarkably fast progress. It's as if you hit a growth spurt in learning, and then ceased to improve. So, let me ask again, who are you, Mai? Or would it be better if I phrased it as, 'Who _were_ you, Mai?'"

With each instance he brought up, I seemed to collapse in on myself. He had had me completely and utterly defeated.

I couldn't lie my way out of this one.

I gritted my teeth. "Who I _was_ doesn't matter. I'm Mai now. I'm not an enemy of the village, and I'm not your enemy either. Isn't that enough?" I begged, knowing that if my answer didn't satisfy him, I'd end up just as screwed as Kakashi had been after his run in with Itachi.

He seemed to mull over my answer, and for a second I thought I had some hope of surviving.

And then that hope was wholly crushed.

"I apologize, Mai, but I'm afraid I've deceived you."

"Huh?"

Itachi smiled sadly, finally showing real emotion. "I had no need for you to explain that operation to me. All users of a kekkei genkei are taught of it."

I flinched back as if the revelation physically hurt me. "Then why…"

"I needed to get you in tsukuyomi."

My blood ran cold, and dread seemed to consume the entirety of my being. There was absolutely no way such a goal could spell out anything good for me. While it could be utilized in different ways, tsukuyomi was, above all, a torture method.

"Why?" I croaked, sounding just as pitiful as I felt.

"I was approached by Danzo-sama after Shisui was removed from his position in ANBU. Though I hadn't believed him at first, Danzo-sama was right. The divide between the Uchiha and the village has widened too much. I never thought he'd go so far as to attack Shisui, but now that he has, I'm sure he won't stop there. If I don't do this, everything will be at stake. He's made me a deal, Mai."

I didn't need him to clarify what that 'deal' was.

There was only one thing that could ever motivate Itachi to obey Danzo—to discard his beliefs and hopes for peace—even after his best friend almost lost his life.

"I can spare Sasuke-kun if I get rid of my clan," he confirmed it.

For the first time since Itachi and I had met, I was shown raw emotion from the boy. Fear had left me, and in its place was saddened resignation. How could I remain scared when he was looking at me with such bitterly sorrow resolve? Even though I was at his mercy, I couldn't help but only feel commiseration for the burden he was about to undertake. I had tried so hard, yet my efforts proved useless in the end. Never had I thought my presence would change the timing of events so drastically.

I had underestimated Fate once more, and it was about to become my undoing.

I closed my eyes, accepting what I had brought onto myself. If this was where my second life ended, then I could only pray that Shisui and Naruto turned out alright.

But then Itachi spoke, shocking me once again.

"I won't torture you, Mai."

My eyes flickered back open. "What?"

I'm graced with another tragic smile—one so small that I'm afraid it's my eyesight messing with me.

"I'm not quite sure who you are, but I do know that you are kind, Mai. Those frantic words you said to me all those months ago prove it. Don't worry, I'll make sure Shisui and Naruto come out of this alive. Perhaps it's foolish of me to wish for such a thing when this is all of my own doing, but I do hope you wake from this." He stopped speaking, obviously struggling with what to say next.

Eventually, he settled for a simple farewell. "Goodbye, Mai. I'm sorry."

It all disappeared. Him, me, the bloody skies— _everything_. I was surrounded by nothingness, and, to him, this wasn't torture.

But to me, it was hell.

I had returned to Oblivion.

* * *

 **Holy crap! Did y'all see that one coming? Will Shisui survive after all? Will Mai still be Mai _if_ she wakes up? Hehehe the world may never know! Just kidding. ;) **

**But really though, did y'all enjoy the chapter? The amount of love I received in the last one was crazy! I do hope you guys can show just as much love for this chapter too!**

 **How crazily cool would it be if we reached 100 reviews with this chapter? Can we do it, yall?**

 **I love you guys! Have a great day!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Warning: Gore! Get hyped!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

There was nothing.

And yet there was something—a darkness that seemed to consume all that existed. The violent shades of red that had surrounded me had disappeared, and in its place was pitch black hell.

I could not feel my body; I could not hear my breathing. What made me _me_ had ceased to be, and no longer could I differentiate between where my consciousness ended and where the void began. I did not have eyes, yet still I felt as if I could still see. Was the darkness due to my lack of vision, or was this all there was—a huge vat of nothingness?

This was Oblivion.

A place where all was gone. A place where _I_ was gone. I could no longer distinguish who I once was and who I am now—two lives blurred together in a place where not a damn thing mattered.

My sense of time was lost, too. A second, a day; an instant or an eternity—all of it was mushed together into one huge ball of vast emptiness. The few years I had spent by Naruto's side seemed to be little more than a blip—a _recess_ , even—in the millennium I had spent in Oblivion, and the time with Shisui, even more so.

The joyous days with them—happy moments even in the midst of fretting over nonsensical things like the fate of a world that did not concern me—had dissipated in a flash. Once again, I was stripped of all feeling; once again I was devoid of all things that made me _me_ —all of it lost in this somber place.

In this place, I had lost myself once, and in this place, I have returned.

Was I Mai **? MAi?** Or was I **sOmeONE eLSE?**

 **There once was a girl so, so loved by her doting mother and father.**

 **There once was a girl cast away by the very woman the birthed her.**

 _WhiCh one wAS **I?**_

It didn't matter anyways.

Nothing did. Not Naruto, not Shisui, not Itachi and his unintentionally wicked plans. What would happen to this twisted world no longer pertained to me—no longer moved me. The people of Konoha, and whether or not they lived or died; it was all nonsense to me. I did not care. I _did not **care**._

 _ **I did not care.**_

All I ever wanted—in both my first and second life—was to live.

I just wanted to _live_.

Both times around, I had tried so hard to abide to my morals. I saved the lives that I could save; I loved the ones that I could love. I had thrown myself into the medical field and had insisted on saving all the lives that fell into my hands. The rest of my days, I was going to dedicate to _helping_ people.

Yet still, I died.

I was twenty one. I was _twenty one._

If the kind of person I was didn't matter—if the countless number of lives I had _saved_ didn't matter—than what was it to God, or Buddha, or Allah or whoever the hell controlled this shitshow if I lived as a good person or not. If the Divine didn't give a damn about who lived or who died, then why should I?

 _Why should I?_

Eighteen years or eighty—the fleeting nature of human life ensured that both lengths seemed all too short. And when someone did take that final breath, they'd end up in this hell anyways.

What need did I have for such a brainless thing like compassion?

I had cared for Itachi, Shisui, and Naruto—for all the kids, even—and had indulged myself in the pursuit of a fever dream. The chances of preventing the massacre had been so miniscule, and still I had tried, and, in doing so, was re-condemned to this pit of nullity.

I was a fool.

I was _a fool._

I was a **foOL. A FoOL. A foOL.**

 **I was a** — _what?_

What was I again? _What wAS I agAiN? Or rather, perhaps, if I so may, was it **wHo was I agAiN?**_

 **Who was I again?**

 _Mai?_

 ** _Mai?_**

 ** _MAI?_**

"Mai!"

Two cold hands clamped on my shoulders, shaking me with a fervor.

Like a newborn animal, I was slow to open my eyes. Eventually, though, I was bestowed with an inverse of the situation; instead of red fading into black, the darkness that I had been encompassed in had vanished, and in its place was, again, red.

A sharingan.

But the tomoe was not the one present in Itachi's eyes; this one I had seen a countless number of times over the duration of those nine months I had spent as Shisui's pupil.

I was staring into Shisui's eyes— _one_ of his eyes, that is.

A small amount of relief stirred in me when I fully grasped who it was that was leaning over me, but that feeling disappeared as quickly as it had came. I felt unnervingly numb to the world around me—so numb that I couldn't even manage a short response to Shisui.

"Mai, who did this to you?" he asked, looking pained at how arduously he was trying to speak in a low voice.

"I didn't realize someone else in the clan had awakened their mangekyo sharingan," he muttered to himself when he didn't receive a prompt reply.

He moved back a little with the intentions of giving me more space, and I was able to look at the boy from what felt like an entirely new perspective. For so long I had put up a childlike front that I almost forgot what it was like to be an adult. I let myself grow accustomed to the ways of the twisted lives of Shinobi.

My revisit to Oblivion eradicated all the will I had had to keep up that silly farce.

There was no warmth inside my stare. I seemed unmoved by the way his eyebrows furrowed in concern, or the way his expression seemed to be pleading for a response from me. Eventually, I complied—not because I was touched by his empathetic mien, but because I no longer cared enough to tread carefully so as to avoid changing things _too_ much.

"Itachi did. He and Danzo made a deal—something about slaughtering the clan in return for keeping Sasuke alive. If you're gonna try to go stop it, I'd recommend being careful. Itachi's getting help from another Uchiha. You might die," I droned monotonously, voice not wavering even when I mentioned _slaughter_ and Shisui _dying_.

Before I could reveal anything else, Shisui had hurriedly picked me up and began to make his way out of the abandoned section of Konoha. His expression looked troubled, but he seemed to not doubt the truth in my words. He, especially, knew just how much Itachi Uchiha loved his little brother. His expression was undoubtedly troubled, but behind that was a resolute decision to go to the scene. It was the same look I had had when I had decided to save him.

"Mai, I'm taking you back to the main part of the village just in case Itachi decides to return to this area. Judging by how far the healing process has gone in my eye, it's been at least a couple of days, and I'm sure you haven't had anything to eat or drink. I'm going to drop you off outside the Uchiha section. Don't move from where I leave you, okay? Someone _will_ come get you when everything has subsided." he spoke firmly, but I barely heard his words.

Nonetheless, I nodded, and he seemed somewhat satisfied with my acquiescence.

In no less than a minute, we found ourselves in a dingy neighborhood—the slums of Konoha. Beside it was where the Uchiha clan resided—condemned to a life alongside other societal rejects of Konoha. Shisui seemed reluctant to leave me here, but undoubtedly knew it was much safer than _inside_ the compound.

Once we reached an area somewhat obscured from plain sight, he set me down, and crouched so as to be lower than me. This was a clan affair, and based on the bitter appearance of resignation on his face, he didn't intend for that to change. Using the same saddened look he had given Itachi when he had bid him farewell, he gazed up at me.

"Mai, take care of Naruto, okay? And yourself, too." One last smile, one last hand ruffling my hair, and just like that, he disappeared from my vision.

And just like that, I disobeyed his last words to me.

For a few seconds, my eyes flicked back and forth, scanning my surroundings for any sign of life. When it was obvious that not a single living soul was there, I began to move. I didn't plan on being heroic, but I didn't plan on remaining there like sitting duck, either. Looking as if I had just been dragged through hell(and technically, that wasn't too far from the truth), I made my way towards one of the entrances to the Uchiha clan's territory.

Taking my time so as not to accidentally send out an indication of my presence, I entered the scene of the massacre.

 _Bloody._

That's the only word that could describe the tragedy that I bore witness to.

The red substance was everywhere—on the walls of the shops, in massive pools mixing in with the dirt. It was a messy killing—one not done in a calm state of mind. Itachi had clearly been much more careless this time around, much less calculating.

A blunder that left one survivor where I stood.

" _You_ ," a voice hissed—one filled to the brim with hatred and disgust.

I jumped at the sound of someone who was still alive, and turned to see one of the clan's older members lying sprawled out on the ground. Though he was conscious, if he didn't receive medical attention soon, he'd end up among the dead anyways. It wasn't too much of a mistake on Itachi's part—he knew that help would not come for a long while—but a mistake nonetheless.

If I had been who I was only a few days before, I might've rushed to aid the man.

Unfortunately, I wasn't.

As I started to walk past him, though, he began to spit out his venomous words.

"This is your fault! You and your demon brat of a brother! That damned prodigy was swayed by the devil in that shitty kid. I'll kill you all once I've been healed! I'll make sure neither of you ever fucking breathe again!" he snarled, and then paused, maliciously grinning as a wicked idea spawning in his head. "You're just a kid, too. I'll do the village a favor and get rid of you now."

And like that, he pounced, kunai in one hand while his other held in his innards. Against a shinobi, he would've been killed in an instant, but his assumption that I was little more than baby gave him foolish courage. He leered as he approached me, and yet still I stood in place.

As his hand clamped around my arm, drawing me closer to him, I did not flinch. When the kunai was drawn back, I did not flinch. When he plunged it down, aiming for my chest, I did not flinch.

When concentrated chakra coated my hand, and I slit his throat, I did not flinch.

The move was swift and merciless—an action so clean and quick that for a second I wondered if I had been the one to do such a thing. Before I could comprehend that _I_ had been the one that had essentially decapitated the man, blood from his neck squirted out at me. It covered my hair and my clothes, creating an unremovable stain on my clothes—an unremovable stain on my soul.

But I didn't stop there.

The first slice had opened the floodgates, and from thereon out, it was a bloodbath. He was already dead—that much was obvious—but my hands continued to thrust into him. His abdomen. The remnants of his neck. His legs. His arms. The chakra blades so clumsily created that it cut into my own hands. A feral noise escaped my lips as I destroyed him, _mutilating_ his body. I was indulging myself in a bloodbath.

It was as if all I had learned about killing had finally sunk into my brain—all the lessons I had failed at while training with Shisui were now bearing fruit, accumulating into one huge release of bloodlust overtaking me. This man—this _scum_ —would be my first victim; the first victim of another monster raised by Konoha.

I was killing a man, and I didn't feel a thing.

Minutes passed(or was it hours?) and still I played with his now-dismembered corpse, never comprehending the masked man walking past me, laughing at my lapse in sanity.

By the time Konoha's ANBU force entered the fray, the only evidence that the lumps of battered flesh around me had ever been a man was the massive pond of blood around me. Even as a pair of arms wrapped around me, attempting to subdue my gory outburst, I futilely persisted.

The ANBU man that had effectively subdued me paused, perhaps not quite understanding the savageness he was witnessing. He seemed unnerved by my lack of lucidity, and eventually decided to render me unconscious. As my vision faded away, a tuft of white hair became the sole thing in my line of sight.

"White Hound reporting back. Three survivors in the compound; Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Mai."

* * *

 **This is the final chapter... before a timeskip, that is.**

 **Do you think Shisui survived after going into the compound? If he did, where do you think he is now? Did you guys enjoy this action-y chapter?**

 **:( Poor Mai, though. She won't be the same after returning to Oblivion, not for a long while. How do you guys feel about this obviously damaged Mai?**

 **And, like always, did you enjoy the chapter? :D**

 **If you did (or even if you didn't) please review, and tell me how you felt!**

 **Have a great day y'all!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Time skip!~**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

A man sat alone in the busy restaurant—a quiet anomaly among the loud patrons that usually frequented the establishment. He glanced up at the clock adorning the wall, then shifted his gaze to the empty seat next to him. He was a man known for never truly being in much of a hurry, yet with each second that ticked by, his agitation grew.

"You've been waiting there since I've arrived, Mai."

An amused smile lingered on my lips as he called me out, and I slid out of the booth behind him to make my way towards where he sat. I wasn't too surprised that he had detected me long before I'd willingly made my presence known. He was, after all, one of Konoha's greatest shinobi.

"Kakashi," I greeted, not bothering to address him in any formal way.

"Aren't you a little young to be so late to a formal meeting?" Kakashi commented, and though half of his face was obscured by his mask, the wryness in his tone made his annoyance evident.

"You're one to talk," I snorted, wiggling into the seat he had saved for me and picking up a menu for the sake of appearances. "When someone brings up notoriously late jounin in the village, my name certainly isn't the first to pop up in their mind. Yours, however… well, I'm sure you know of your infamy by now."

"Your name isn't the one that's first mentioned in that category because you're not a _jounin_ , Mai, not because you're any better than me at being on time."

"Not a jounin _yet_ ," I corrected.

"Ah, of course. _Yet_." He forced a smile. "Congratulations on the upcoming promotion, Mai."

"Thank you, though compared to the various people who've put an effort into raising me, I'm quite slow with my own progress."

"I can't say I disagree."

Neither of us vocalized who I was thinking of; it was already too obvious. There was Shisui and Itachi, the two geniuses who'd become members of ANBU before they even hit puberty, and after the incident, there was Kakashi himself, who had also graduated long before his fellow classmates did. I didn't hold a candle to either of the three, but that didn't matter anymore.

Two of them were long gone.

Kakashi sighed as he did his own reminiscing. Bringing up Konoha's two notoriously tragic shinobi was never good for a conversation, even in a one between two nin who were just as tragic in their own right. As it always did when things concerning the prodigal Uchihas were brought up, the ensuing silence became unbearable.

It didn't take long for me to break the uncomfortable pause. "If we're gonna congratulate each other on rather on basic achievements, then congratulations on finally being given a group of kids who you _won't_ automatically fail."

He raised an eyebrow at this. "You've seen the potential team assignments that Hokage-sama has given out?"

"Yes," I lied (because being truthful _now_ about Kami's fuck-up when it came to reincarnating me was out of the question).

"Then you should know that, as of now, my team isn't going to be formed. Naruto failed his graduation exam again." He paused to make direct eye contact with me before he continued. "Which is absurd. He's trained with you for a few years and with the class prodigy for the rest of the time. Why is it that he's not graduating again, Mai?"

There were quite a few things I couldn't afford to be honest about in this world, but this was not one of them.

"Because I told him not to," I chirped.

"You _told_ him not to?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

"Yep."

"Are you going to tell me why?"

"Nope."

He sighed, but both he and I had known that he wasn't going to get a clear answer to begin with. "Figures. I also figure you have some sort of plan to get him on my team anyways, though, so I won't question you any further. You didn't come here to discuss your mischievous schemes with me anyways, right?"

"Right," I agreed. "I just came to confirm that you've heard of Hokage-sama's ridiculous request. Have you? Or do I have to debrief you or something?"

Kakashi crinkled his nose up, creating wrinkles in his mask. "Don't use a word like request, Mai, it's a formal assignment. I'd rather not have it seem like we're doing something so ridiculous _willingly_."

"I'm glad we're on the same page."

A nearly inaudible squeak from the rusty door signified that someone had entered the ceaselessly loud joint. From where I sat, I could make out the top of my companion's head—a companion with raven black hair that was oddly spiked up in the back.

Turning to Kakashi, I mouthed a small apology before I got up to head towards the new guest. I didn't bother explaining, though—any nin even slightly on guard would've heard the door creak.

The masked man looked at me disbelievingly. "You're complaining about my habit of getting lost on the road of life when you're the one leaving in the middle of a conversation? At least when I'm tardy to things, I make an effort to stay until the very end," he complained, but not even the expression-obscuring mask could hide the teasing intent behind his words.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll sneak you some coffee when you test how long the kids will take to notice your presence."

"Deal." He stuck out his hand to shake mine, and finally the jovial mood broke.

I flinched at the not-so-sudden movement, and immediately he retracted his hand. It was too late, though—the damage was already done.

When a chat with an old friend flowed so smoothly, it was easy to forget silly personal preferences. Whether someone liked one cube of sugar in their tea, or two, for example. Whether someone preferred ketchup to barbecue. Whether they wanted their drink with ice, or without.

Whether or not someone could stand to be touched anymore. (Don't touch me _don't touch me doN't **touch me**_. If you touch me, you'll split into _t **Wo**_. **Two!** Just like that man, that _filthy, fiLtHY **man.**_

 _The man whose blood I had bathed in._ )

"Sorry." We both knew I wasn't apologizing for my abrupt departure.

But there was no time to spend dwelling on the past; I had to be composed when I talked to the restaurant's newest occupant.

"Sasuke!"

His head snapped towards me as my voice carried across the room. For a moment he looked confused, unable to find me in the sea of people, but once we did make eye contact, a small smile graced his lips.

"Mai!"

He waited for me to maneuver through the crowd. Once I was close enough for the threat of us losing each other to be eliminated, he motioned for me to follow him outside. Taking care to not make physical contact with me, he walked us through the quiet back alleys of Konoha until we reached the busier main street.

Crowds always provided the most privacy.

"Do you want to bring anything this time? Ino wouldn't charge anything if we stopped by the shop," I suggested, but he shook his head as he always did.

"It's fine. We're already almost there anyways."

It was disturbing, really, how mature a child could come to sound. I snuck a peek at his face as we hurried through the center of Konoha, and found the same expression that had been ever-present since the night of the massacre. It was a mien of pure resolve.

It took little time for us to exit the main road and begin the brisk walk we had completed so many times before. The path we were on now was noticeably unused—lacking any obvious sign of wear from any possible visitors' footprints. That came as no surprise, though—shinobi rarely opted to use the regular path when a shunshin could get the job done that much quicker.

No one wanted to spend more time than necessary here.

It was, after all, Konoha's largest cemetery.

Sasuke took a deep breath as we breached the entrance. "Five years already, huh?"

"Five years…" I echoed, not quite believing it myself.

I'd woken up after the massacre drenched in blood and strapped down to a hospital bed. It was, to say the least, not the most _pleasant_ experience I've had in this life. Naruto was—from what I could make out with my limited chakra sensory skills—in the room next to mine and in a similar predicament, though he lacked the red liquid that I was covered from head to toe in. Sasuke, too, was in one of the rooms, but he bore no blood on him or any restraints—a real shock considering he was the closest to the victims of the slaughter.

For three kids who'd survived a massacre, we had made it out relatively unscathed—physically, of course.

Whether or not we were okay mentally, though, was debatable.

"You remember where the marker is, right?" The question was asked out of courtesy.

The results of the night had come out to this: three survivors, one an Uchiha, the other two just kids who'd been roped into the wrong clan at the wrong time. Sasuke, Naruto, and I.

 _Just_ Sasuke, Naruto, and I.

"Of course I remember." The idea of me forgetting such a thing was laughable.

"The dobe isn't here 'cause he needed to go find a way to pass the graduation exam," Sasuke explained Naruto's usual absence with a hint of a smirk on his face. "I can't believe he failed it on purpose."

"I know," I replied, offering my own little devious smile, though it never reached my eyes.

Sasuke grimaced in slight vexation. "I know you have some sort of plan up your sleeve, but I don't know what it is, and truth be told, I don't think I _want_ to know what it is, but Naruto better end up passing. You guys can't exactly keep your promise if the dobe is taking remedial classes with Iruka-sensei."

I forced myself to gently touch Sasuke's shoulder. "You don't have to worry about us breaking the promise."

He brushed my hand off for my sake, knowing full well how even the slightest bit of contact sent me reeling. "I know you guys won't break the promise—not on purpose, anyways." He hesitated, experiencing an obvious internal conflict on whether or not he should say his next few words.

"I don't get why you're helping me, though. I've told you that I won't kill him."

"That's _why_ I'm helping you find Itachi."

We stood in front of Shisui's headstone now, though his body wasn't buried beneath it. It was like this for the majority of the Uchiha graves in Konoha's main cemetery. When ANBU had returned to clean up the area, an unnervingly large amount of bodies had gone missing, Shisui's being one of them.

"But that doesn't make _sense_. He put you under tsukuyomi, and if he hadn't used it on you, it probably would've been used on me." He paused again, unsure if he wanted to list the rest of Itachi's crimes. " _He killed Shisui_. You should want him just as dead as I should probably want him."

"But you don't want him dead either. Why is that?" I countered his argument with my own inquiry.

Sasuke flushed. "I've told you this already. What Itachi did was horrible. It was _unforgivable_ , even." For a moment, he seemed truly enraged by what had occurred all those years ago.

Then he continued.

"But he's still my brother, and I still want to know why he did it. I've told you this before too, but when Itachi was—when he killed mother and father, he was _crying_. I _know_ he was. What kind of trained killer cries when doing something so drastic? I don't know why he did it, but I don't think it was something he did willingly. Maybe I'm wrong, but before I send my last relative to the grave, I just want to understand him."

"Me too," I spoke quietly. I was lying, and I damn well knew it, but the truth couldn't be exposed just yet. "I want to know why he did it too."

Before either of us could speak again, a sharp noise echoed throughout Konoha. It was a quietly loud sound—one that would be disregarded by any civilian, but would catch the attention of all shinobi within the village.

It was a call to assemble.

"Well, if I'm gonna be promoted to jounin soon, I should probably attend to this." I pretended to be perturbed by the interruption and slowly got up, turning to face the Hokage tower. "I'll see you back at the compound, Sasuke."

As I felt Sasuke's stare boring into my back, I headed for the tower, feigning a sense of urgency. Once I was out of sight, however, I redirected my route to the east side of the forest that surrounded Konoha.

The fun was about to begin.

Putting in a conceivable effort to move more quietly than I'd ever had during any covert operation, I ran along the mid-level branches. High enough so those on foot would not see me, and low enough so the leaves would obscure my presence from an aerial standpoint.

For something that nearly took the active chunin and jounin in the village over an hour, I located my blond brat in five minutes flat.

The scene was an ugly one to stumble upon. Against an old shed, Iruka sensei was slumped against the wooden panels with an alarming number of kunai sticking out of his body. He'd managed to contort his body in a way that prevented any vitals from being hit, but he was still nonetheless injured.

Across from him, in the treetops, stood an angered Mizuki. The soon-to-be ex-sensei glared daggers into Naruto's back, then observed his handiwork with creepy glee.

Naruto was on his hands and knees, startled by his sensei's shove. He took a brief moment to give Iruka a concerned once-over, then directed all his annoyances towards the other sensei involved in the skirmish.

"Hey asshole!" Despite how dire the situation was looking, both Iruka and I cringed at Naruto's vulgarity.

"Naruto! Give me the scroll!" Mizuki demanded, not understanding that the boy's obscene greeting was for him.

"Naruto, whatever happens, don't give him the scroll!" Iruka shouted desperately, pulling out a kunai to defend the two of them. "The scroll is dangerous! Mizuki was using you to get his hands on it."

"I know that, baka!"

Now everyone in the scene looked taken aback. Hidden among the trees, I stifled a giggle at how how confused both friend and foe appeared to be. They were seriously underestimating their future Hokage.

Mizuki recovered from the shock of Naruto's attitude first, and his shitty grin returned soon after. "Naruto, there's no point in you having the scroll." The maniacal smile widened. "I'll tell you the truth…"

"Stop!" Iruka roared, but his injuries prevented him from doing much more.

"You recall how the demon fox was sealed twelve years ago, correct?" Mizuki waited for Naruto to give a response, but the blond only forfeited a dull stare. "A-Anyways… a rule was created… one that was never meant to be told to you." Once again, he paused to watch Naruto's reaction, and once again, he was disappointed by the lack of an extravagant one. He didn't stop, though, probably certain that the next line would earn him the horrified look that he wanted.

"Naruto, _you_ are the nine tailed fox!"

In the distance, crickets could be heard chirping.

Naruto gave both his senseis a bemused glance. "Duh. I already knew that."

The shock that Mizuki had intended to give Naruto manifested in himself instead. "What?!"

Naruto blinked. "Did you guys think I was stupid or something?"

Mizuki and Iruka made no comment. To their credit, though, I wouldn't have replied either—Naruto could be one hell of a dunce when he was too lazy to put an effort into menial tasks.

"Naruto… you _knew_?" Iruka seemed the most surprised by the newest development.

"Well, _yeah_. It's not _that_ hard to put together. I mean, the fox isn't something that can be killed, right? It just a manifestation of chakra, so it had to be put _somewhere_ , and Teme's clan knows a lot about sealing, so once I learned a few things from him, I just figured it was sealed into someone. I'm the only kid the villagers call a demon, y'know, and I _was_ born on the same night the Kyuubi was sealed, so it was kind of obvious, don'tcha think?"

For a second, an almost comical silence overtook everyone that was present.

Then Mizuki spit more venomous words, this time while aiming his fuuma shuriken at Naruto.

"... It doesn't matter if you already knew! The demon still killed Iruka's parents! Everyone hates you, Iruka too! No one will ever love you!" He let go of the weapon and eagerly watched it fly towards the defenseless boy that he so mindlessly despised.

Naruto prepared to deflect the attack, but before he could, an army green obscured his entire vision. He yelped as he hit the ground and opened his eyes to see Iruka hovering over him. Still stationed on the branch, I stiffened at the sight of the blade sticking out of Iruka's back—after all, though only for a short time, he had been my sensei too—but made no move to help the two.

"Why?" Naruto croaked, staring up at Iruka, appalled.

"You must have been in so much pain, Naruto. I'm sorry I didn't do a better job as your sensei." Blood dripped from Iruka's mouth onto Naruto's face, and the boy began to tremble.

To the two senseis, it must have seemed like he was quivering out of fear.

I knew better, though.

No, it's more accurate to say that _we_ knew better. After all, I wasn't the only one observer there.

"Naruto's shaking out of anger, isn't he?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I gave the new arrival a bored stare.

"You're awfully late to the party, Shisui."

* * *

 **Did I trick ya with the scene at Shisui's grave? :D C'mon guys, I'd never off my favorite Uchiha (not yet, anyways).**

 **Mai's being promoted to jounin! Our favorite botched up reincarnation has gone so far. I wonder what the absurd mission she discussed with Kakashi was.**

 **Did you guys enjoy the chapter?**

 **As always, please, _please_ review if you did! **

**Have a great day!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **(Read the A/N today!)**

* * *

"You're as impassive about Naruto's combative struggles as ever, Mai," Shisui commented, laughing as he made his way towards me.

We were situated a good hundred or so yards away from the skirmish—close enough for a good view, but far enough for our voices to not carry. Knowing this, Shisui allowed himself to chuckle freely at my usual show of an apparent disregard for Naruto's well being.

He was referencing the last time he visited—back when he had accidentally stumbled upon Naruto's pranks being retaliated against by the ever so agitated ANBU unit. I had, as I always did, refrained from getting myself involved, choosing to watch the madness unfold from a safe distance away instead. (Hardened nin image be damned, not a single tangible thing in this world could persuade me to throw myself into the middle of Naruto's one sided prank war with the ANBU.)

"I don't see _you_ jumping out of the tree to go help Naruto," I bit back, not sparing him a glance as I kept my eyes glued to the blond's fight.

"That's 'cause I'm supposed to be dead, Mai." He paused, thinking over the situation. "And it's kind of fun to watch Naruto struggle."

"So what you're saying is that I'm right… and I'm right." I finally turned to give him my full attention.

He sighed but kept the light tone. "There's one thing that's changed. Why'd you have to grow out of your humbleness, Mai?" Then he paused, now adorning a proud beam. "Then again, a little birdy tells me you're being promoted to jounin already, so I guess you have reason to not be humble.

"That's a good joke," I snorted. He and I knew damn well that that accomplishment was sub par compared to what he and Itachi had achieved. "You _do_ realize the Hokage only wants to promote me because of the work we've done on this mission, right?"

"You're lowballing yourself."

"You're highballing me."

"After that stunt you pulled when you jumped off a cliff to save me? Not likely."

"After I got mentally pulverized by Itachi immediately after? Too likely."

"Mai…" he started softly, but stopped himself. He never knew what to say after _those_ events were brought up. As always, he impulsively reached out a hand to affectionately tousle my hair—just like the old times.

And as always, we both flinched back, suddenly and cruelly aware that these _weren't_ the old times.

Now his smile seemed strained, but he didn't push for an unwarranted addressal of my whole touching issue. "Even if your promotion is solely based on your role in this mission—which I'm not saying it is—it's still quite a feat. This assignment's dangerous in and of itself, even if you aren't exactly in the thick of it."

I rolled my eyes. "It's hardly dangerous at all."

He was referring to the half-decade long mission we had both been assigned to since the night of the massacre. Danzo wouldn't have hesitated to go after Shisui's life again—especially after Shisui became privy to Danzo's malicious methods—and I would've probably been brought down with him. With such hindering time constraints, the Hokage could only figure out one solution—to drag the two people who were fully aware of the truth behind the massacre into a long-term recon mission that neither of us had ever wanted. Itachi and Jiraiya would've done just fine on their own—trust me, I would know—but having _just_ Shisui be their middle man was too risky. No one could know of his survival.

And so I, at the mere age of six, became wrapped up in a nonsensical S-ranked mission made purely because it was easier than explaining the real cause of the massacre.

It was, to say the least, a pain.

"Speaking of illogically made missions, did the little birdy tell you of my newest active assignment yet?"

Shisui quirked an eyebrow. "He didn't."

"I'm Team Seven's newest tail," I spoke with fake enthusiasm.

"And Team Seven is?"

"Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura," I faltered. It probably wouldn't be wise to assume that everything had gone accordingly after all my meddling. "Don't quote me on that, though. The first two I'm certain of, but Haruno… I don't know."

"Ah, so Hokage-sama wants you to make sure that…" he trailed off, not sure if he wanted to say it.

I rolled my eyes at his coyness over age-old village secrets. "Yes, he wants me to make sure that Konoha doesn't lose their precious last Uchiha and jinchuuriki in one fell swoop."

"Mai, you know that's an S-ranked secret," Shisui scolded.

"If the entire village can discuss it within a few yards of him, then I'm sure a dead man and said-jinchuuriki's sister can talk about it amongst themselves too, Shisui. Besides, you were here earlier. Naruto's already fully aware of what _really_ happened on the night of the Kyuubi attack."

Shisui crossed his arms but chose not to continue a fruitless argument against me. He knew I made a valid point. Instead, he addressed my vexation. "I'm not sure I understand the issue here. Isn't that a logical assignment to have? As much as I hate their objectification of the two boys, there's not much merit in protesting against rational beliefs."

"I wouldn't mind if the boys were weak, but it's quite obvious that they're fully capable of protecting themselves. You know as well as I do what my _actual_ purpose of being on this mission is."

He didn't verbally confirm it, but the lack of a response was a response in and of itself.

"So what do you think? Am I the one watch Kakashi's team, or is Kakashi the one keeping an eye on me?"

"I'd say it's a little bit of both," Shisui replied with an all-knowing smile on his face.

"Both?" I questioned, not quite getting it.

( _I never understood nonsensical human actions anymore._ )

"You're a bit of a wild card, you know." He looked dejected by his own words—perhaps even disappointed—but for the life of me I couldn't understand _why_ he always gave me such sad glances when he said such things.

"What do you _mean_?"

He gestured towards the fight playing out beneath us. Naruto was beginning to create an absurd amount of shadow clones—enough to build an army made of copies of himself—yet each one looked a little more sloppy than the last. He was clearly tired, but there was a resolute fire burning in his eyes. I had no reason to fret over the outcome of the fight, though he was a little more tired this time around.

After all, I _had_ advised him to give a go at other jutsu in the scroll.

"What about it?"

"It's a bit hard to make sense of your actions now, that's all."

"In what way?"

"You used to be super overprotective of Naruto, and I'm sure you still are, but I'm sure Hokage-sama is aware that you haven't been quite the same since…" He didn't want to complete the sentence.

"Since your best friend fucked with my brain?" I offered cynically, cracking a crooked smile and letting the facade slip.

That damned pitying look returned. "Yeah, since then."

"It's not like that." I waved him off, "I'd slice Mizuki-sensei's throat before he could get a real shot at taking Naruto's life."

I wasn't lying about it either—I just wasn't giving Shisui the full truth. Protecting Naruto was my duty; whether it was for his sake or mine was what was debatable. It wasn't a stretch to say I cared for the kid—not in the slightest—but it also wasn't a stretch to say that him being alive benefitted me a lot more than him being dead.

Shisui's hand twitched, probably fighting back the urge to fondly mess up my hair. "I'm sure you would, Mai."

One glance at the skirmish was all it took to discern that it was over. Mizuki was undoubtedly beaten, and Iruka and Naruto were having the iconic talk.

"If there's no update from Jiraiya to give to the Hokage, then we should part ways for now." I mulled over his sorrowful expression. "Tell Itachi that the kids get to officially meet Kakashi in a few days on top of the academy building. Kakashi already expects me to be observing them from the arches on the roof, so you it won't be difficult for you two to come too."

Shisui seemed genuinely baffled by the invitation. His surprise wasn't much of a shock, though. Despite having a long-term recon mission together, I had avoided all unnecessary contact with Itachi since _that_ day, and he had steered clear of me too—probably out of pure respect for my wishes. It was, after all, quite awkward to associate with some who you had just mentally tortured for (what felt like) a few days.

"You want me to bring Itachi along?"

I brushed the dirt off my fingers as I pushed myself onto my feet. "Why wouldn't I want you to? If he's in town, then he's going to be tailing Sasuke, and I'm being forced to tail Naruto. We're going to run into each other anyways, so I might as well clear the awkward air between us now. Or would you rather we alternate which branches we spy on to avoid bumping heads?"

He still looked weary. "Are you sure you—"

"I don't hold grudges, Shisui."

And it was true. (How do you hold grudges against people who _aren't evEn **rEaL**?_ )

Shisui fought back a beam, probably not wanting to get his hopes up. "Itachi will be there for their first meeting with Kakashi. I'll make sure of it. See, Mai? I told you you were unpredictable."

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. "See ya'."

He waited until he thought I was out of earshot to expand on his last sentence.

"It's because you're so unpredictable that Hokage-sama gave you that mission, y'know. For someone like you, if we don't give you something to fight for, you'll wander off somewhere and waste away."

* * *

"Itachi," I greeted, doing my absolute best to sound as welcoming as I could. "It's been awhile."

"Mai," he responded back, just as uncomfortable as I was.

It had been years since I had had the nerve to look at Itachi in full—usually our interactions were limited by coded messages secretly said in passing. He looked just as he had in the original timeline, with just a slight difference in the way he carried himself. He was more relaxed—less damaged by the world's cruelty due to Shisui's survival.

It was a good change.

Shisui appeared between us, slinging one arm over Itachi's shoulder while his other hovered over me. Even when trying to maintain an easygoing mood, he was still careful about touching me. He flashed me a distressed look before covering it up with a characteristic grin. "Aren't we a bit late to this? The kids aren't even here anymore."

"Yet," Itachi corrected, earning a confused look from Shisui and a nod of affirmation from me.

"Yet?"

"Kakashi's always late. The kids are still in the classroom waiting for him to show up. C'mon, Shisui, you worked under him for at least a year. You should know this."

Shisui laughed sheepishly. "It's been awhile," he conceded, scratching the back of his head.

Before we could make further comment on Kakashi's habit of being tardy, the door to the roof opened, and out stumbled three annoyed kids. The silver-haired man had gone ahead of them, and was now leaning against the railing.

"Well," Kakashi started, using his eyes to give his pupils a forced smile out of courtesy. "Let's begin with introducing yourselves."

"What do you wanna know?"

"Your likes, dislikes. Dreams for the future and whatnot." Unlike last time, Kakashi took the initiative to introduce himself first. "I'll go first. I'm Kakashi Hatake. I enjoy reading Jiraiya-sensei's novels. You don't need to know my dislikes… dreams? Eh. I have plenty of hobbies."

I nearly fell off the arch in disbelief. The only difference this time around was the fact that he was more open to them about his perversions.

"Jiraiya-sensei's books? Aren't those…?" Shisui made a disgusted face.

"Yes. Yes they are," Itachi confirmed, and though he wasn't as open as Shisui was with showing his emotions, his judgemental eyes told all.

"You… didn't tell us a single noteworthy thing…" Sasuke looked as if he were about to run to Iruka and ask for a new sensei.

Kakashi kept up his carefree farce. "Your turn."

Naruto didn't hesitate to take the floor. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, Iruka-sensei paying for my ramen, and when my sister and Sasuke train with me. I dislike it when instant ramen takes too long to cook, when Teme forgets to order food, and when my sister disappears on some random mission. My dream?" He waited to ponder the last part of his introduction. "I want to become Hokage, and then make it so that no one in this village has to suffer ever again, dattebayo!"

"He's got a steady head on his shoulders." Itachi gave a little nod of acknowledgement.

The slightest hint of a blush appeared on Sasuke's face as it was his turn to go.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I like it when Mai takes us all out to eat when she returns from her mission, and I dislike it when the Dobe pulls stupid pranks. My dream is a bit embarrassing, and nonsensical too, but I'd like to find my brother one day, and discover the truth behind what happened _that_ night."

Beside me, Itachi momentarily stiffened at his mention before relaxing. "What a fool," he commented, but there was no obscuring the fondness behind the smile on his face.

"Mai, you've really helped them grow up without us, huh?" Shisui asked, looking a bit saddened at the loss of his role in the two boys' lives.

"I just followed your example, that's all."

I averted my eyes back onto the kids and felt myself tense up at what I saw.

The floor was now Sakura's, but she looked different, and not different in a good way. I had neglected to keep an eye on her—I had just assumed that things would eventually revert back to normal with my removal from the Academy—and now it seemed I would pay dearly for it.

There wasn't a trace of the life-filled fangirl she had once been in a different life. It would've been a good thing if that personality had been replaced by a more serious one, but that wasn't the case.

She just looked apathetic.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. I like a lot of things, but there's nothing notable enough to mention now. I don't dislike a lot of things. My dream? I don't really have one." She gave a weak laugh.

"I suppose not dying would be a good dream to have from now on."

Bile rose to the back of my throat.

I had ruined Sakura Haruno.

* * *

 **For some reason, this chapter was ridiculously hard to write, but I still made it!**

 **What do you guys think of Sakura's new personality? What's happened to her in the past five years? Hehe I love toying with these characters' lives.**

 **I recently published a new story on this site! It's more comedic than this one, and it's about our favorite criminal organization, the Akatsuki! I'd love you to the moon and back if you could check it out and review. It's called Dead Men Tell Some Tales.  
**

 **As always, leave a review if you liked the chapter, or even if you didn't! It's literally the only ting that motivates me to write this fic when I have no urge to!**

 **I love you guys! Have a great day. ~**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Perched on yet another tree branch, Shisui, Itachi, and I stared intently at the three kids below us. Our eyes were glued on whichever brat we had decided was the most important in our lives—Itachi's on Sasuke, Shisui's on Naruto, and mine, oddly enough, on Sakura.

It's not to say I put her above the hyperactive blond and the oddly hopeful Uchiha—quite the opposite, in fact. She hadn't rubbed me all that well when we had first officially met all those years ago, and that applied in tenfold now.

I was just trying to figure out how to un-fuck the former edge I had had on the world.

As amusing as meddling with Fate was, I'd end up screwed if _everything_ changed. After all, every bit of information I had on the future was only valuable if most events played out similarly enough to how they had the first time around.

Unfortunately for me, having Sakura be as not-impassive as possible was essential to keeping things mostly the same, but blindly acting in the moment would prove to be just as useless as not acting at all. Before I could make any moves, I had to observe.

And I was _not_ liking what I was seeing.

The kids were doing the bell test, and already it had started off strange. Unlike last time, Naruto hadn't recklessly jumped into battle, and Sasuke hadn't decided to make the exam a one-man mission. The two boys had joined forces instead—an easily reached solution for the two close friends.

After the massacre, no one with even a smidgen of their conscience intact could leave the 'last' Uchiha on his own. Out of pure respect for Shisui and pleading from Naruto, once we were all declared stable enough to go on with our lives, Naruto and I had permanently moved into the Uchiha compound. Now, for better or for worse, the two were inseparable. It came as no surprise to all of us observers when they had immediately grouped together. That was an expected change.

It was what stayed the same that alarmed me.

Sakura, once again, had been separated from the two boys, but she didn't seem nearly as on edge as she should've been with Kakashi as a foe. In fact, the expression on her face seemed almost _bored_. She was humming lightly as she traversed the training ground—a real insult towards Kakashi's competence. He could track her down with ease if he truly wanted to, yet here she was practically giving her location away.

What the hell was she thinking?

"Haruno Sakura, correct?" Itachi broke the comfortable silence we had all fallen into, staring at the girl with what could only be described as bemused suspicion.

"Sakura-chan? Yeah, it is her! If I recall correctly, she had a bit of a crush on Sasuke all those years ago," Shisui answered, his tone light to display his good mood. Then his eyes narrowed. "She seems rather… _unbothered_ by this exercise."

He was putting it lightly.

She didn't _just_ seem unbothered. It felt like she couldn't give a rat's ass if she lived or died—a crippling attitude to have for the entire team. Right now it was more or less harmless—Kakashi would never go as far as to _actually_ harm his students—but on an actual mission, indifference on whether or not you survived was deadly.

"I see Kakashi still has no qualms against psychological damage," Itachi noted, pointing out the iconic scene that had once rendered Sakura incapacitated.

Curious as to what on earth Kakashi had come up with to frighten the girl, we all allowed ourselves to fall under the genjutsu. The view we saw was, to put it mildly, harrowing, though none of us felt all that swayed by it.

We weren't living in a world that allowed such feelings.

But Sakura hadn't entered that world yet, and by all means she should have been shaken to the core at what she saw. Sasuke's bloodied, kunai-riddled figure was hunched over on the floor—a gruesome thing to see by anyone's standards—yet she stared at him with disinterest.

"Do you really think so little of me?" she spoke loudly, letting everyone within hearing range know that she hadn't been fooled.

I suppressed a shiver. She wasn't just talking to Kakashi when she had asked such a bold question. Though it was against all odds, I had a sneaking suspicion that she was directing her inquiry towards _me_. Shisui and Itachi were as effectively hidden as always—they never failed to take every possible precaution into account—but I had simply concealed my presence enough to avoid detection from genin. After all, Kakashi had already expected me to be present.

But someone like _Sakura_ should have never been able to detect me; the mere thought of it was laughable.

"It seems she's gotten over her crush on Sasuke," Shisui laughed at the statement, but there was real concern behind his little mention of her childhood love. He turned to me. "In fact, I think I could almost say that she's gotten over him a little too much. Do you have something to do with it?"

"Me?" I repeated innocuously, though neither of the Uchiha boys bought it.

"I do recall Sasuke-kun telling me about how one of his classmates had 'knocked his admirer out,'" Shisui talked casually, though he was giving me an amused look as he brought up a time from so long ago. "That wouldn't have happened to be _you_ , would it, Mai?"

Before I could deny the allegations, Itachi gave his input too. "Ah, that time? Naruto-kun had been boasting about his sister's role in that incident to me when he was over at the compound."

There was no use denying it now. Sheepishly, I confessed. "I may or may not have roughed her up half a decade ago."

"And she still bares a grudge against you for that?" Shisui quirked an eyebrow at her behaviour while I furrowed mine.

"What would you know about anything she has against me? You haven't even been in Konoha for more than a few days, and this is your first visit in nearly two years."

"Why else would she have just mocked you like that?" Itachi answered the question in place of Shisui with one of his own, and I felt my blood run cold.

So I _hadn't_ just imagined her provocation.

From our viewpoint, we were given a clear view of everyone involved in the test—including Kakashi. He looked just as unnerved as I felt after hearing Sakura's little taunt. The apprehension in his expression only multiplied as she began to trek towards where the two boys had decided to hide.

There was no way she should have been able to track them so easily, and every damn person who was watching her knew it. Both Naruto and Sasuke had been semi-actively trained by me over the past five years, and every method I had instilled in them had been instilled in me via Shisui.

Sakura was making all of us out to be fools.

"She's suspiciously good," Itachi voiced what all of us were thinking.

"And she doesn't mind flaunting it," Shisui added, pointing out yet another disturbing aspect of her show. It was quite clear that she knew that all eyes were on her, yet she made no move to blend in with the rest. The loudest get shot at the worst, but her brazen actions were a declaration from her—she was announcing that she had enough faith in her ability to defend herself as the odd one out.

To the others, this was a display of naively childish flare.

To me, this was a _challenge_ , and she damn well knew it.

"At this rate, Naruto and Sasuke are gonna be outshined by her," Shisui laughed, knowing that what he was saying was far from true.

"Definitely not," I snorted.

When it came to being obnoxiously flashy, Naruto and Sasuke could have bested even the most shallow of kings.

The two boys jumped out of their hiding spaces, giving their sensei the most forced look of spite I'd ever seen. Their true feelings of glee and excitement for whatever kind of hell they were about to raise were quite obvious. Naruto, being the extravagant guy he usually was when it came to all things ninja-related, alerted Kakashi of the oncoming attack with a self-assured shout.

"Take this, dattebayo!"

He did what he usually did; he made shadow clones, but this time there was something off about them. Instead of beating his opponent via an edge gained by having a larger attack force, the amount he had created was much smaller—about half the size of his usual shadow clone army.

Turning to briefly look at Sasuke, an ear-splitting grin consumed his face. "You ready?"

Sasuke answered him with a confident nod.

The two boys, along with Naruto's multitude of shadow clones, pounced on Kakashi. The man looked bored—probably assuming that they were relying on the clones as a distraction to divert his attention from the bells—and made no move to escape from what was supposed to have been a simple attack.

Then the two boys began forming hand seals at breakneck speed.

As their fingers formed the various signs, every non-genin present—aside from my ever so ignorant self—widened their eyes in both surprise and alarm. Kakashi immediately tried drawing back, while Itachi and Shisui escaped to a tree further away, the latter having picked me up while he was at it.

"Cloning Transfer no Jutsu!" the two boys yelled in unison, earning a confused stare from me and an impressed whistle from Shisui.

As their exclamation echoed throughout the training grounds, Naruto's clones stopped following his own movements. Instead, they took on a new flare to their motions, now copying the familiar jutsu that Sasuke had once used on Kakashi in another lifetime.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball no Justu!" Naruto's clones chorused, and before I could even begin to comprehend what they had just screamed, the training grounds were engulfed in flames.

"He learned more than just how to create shadow clones that night?" Shisui asked, referring to the incident with Mizuki.

"I told him to, but what the hell was _that_?"

"It's a technique derived from shadow clones. It allows one users to essentially transfer both a technique onto another user's shadow clone without any need for the shadow clone creator to have any prior knowledge of the technique," Itachi explained, nodding in approval of his brother's rapid improvement.

"I told you they wouldn't be outshined by Sakura," I gloated my correct assumption to Shisui, earning a playful roll of the eye from the boy.

"If she makes another impressive move, you're buying me dinner," Shisui bet.

"Deal," I agreed, absolutely certain that Naruto and Sasuke had stole the show.

Itachi remained quiet—an alarming thing to see when the outcome of such a ludicrous bet _should've_ seemed obvious. There was no way in hell Sakura, no matter how much she had changed from her original self, could defeat Konoha's two unpredictable legends.

And then, once again, she took me by surprise.

Kakashi had jumped up to avoid getting burnt to a crisp, and had lingered in midair, staring at the decimated forest in utter shock. He had left himself open—too focused on the sheer power put into the attack to notice the movements of the pink-haired brat he had never failed to underestimate.

Sakura was given the perfect opportunity to grab the bells.

It wasn't a moved planned by the trio by any means; it was more due to a pure stroke of luck that she had been at the right place at the right time. She launched herself towards Kakashi, and though he could have easily escaped once again, the moment her fingertips brushed against the metal, he had forfeited. After all, he couldn't go _too_ hard on genin who were just fresh out of the academy. As sadistic as he could sometimes be, bullying children was not a part of his agenda.

Besides, dragging out the game for too long wouldn't be any fun for him anyways. The real test was starting now.

Sakura landed safely on the ground, and I began to feel a little nauseous at how things had played out.

"You owe me a meal," Shisui reminded, rubbing the loss in my face. "Winning against Kakashi at an infamously failed test in a pretty flashy accomplishment."

I waved him away—this was where things could go horribly, _horribly_ wrong.

They had two bells, and as far as they knew, only two of them could pass, and the one holding their ticket to passing was _Sakura_ —someone who no longer seemed like the type to selflessly give the bells away to the two boys. A complete team bond was essential here, and it was evident that the group lacked that.

And then the jingling sound of a moving bell came from Sasuke and Naruto's palms.

"You guys should take the bells. I can just pass another time." She looked completely and utterly serious as she casually handed them away, and I couldn't tell if she had figured out the point of the test, or if she truly didn't care whether or not she passed now or later.

Both scenarios were frightening. She was either too smart for her own good, or too apathetic to survive in this vicious world.

But that didn't matter just yet—I could address it any other time. All that mattered was the fact that the path for the two boys to _really_ become genin now seemed within reach. As expected, the two refused to take her generous offer. Instead, they played an impromptu game of hot potato with the bells until Kakashi had decided he had heard enough.

"Congratulations," he started with a closed-eye smile, plucking the bells out of the air as they flew towards Sasuke. "You guys have passed."

"W-What? Which two of us?" Naruto asked nervously, his eyes flickering back and forth between his two—and I say this as loosely as possible now that Sakura's gone psycho on us—friends. "And _why_?"

"Why, all of you, of course," Kakashi answered without giving an actual answer. "And why? Well, you guys can figure it out. I've taken a liking to you. I'll see you all here tomorrow in the Hokage's office for your first mission."

And with that, he disappeared, never giving them a real reason as to why they _all_ passed.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day where the Kakashi willingly became a sensei," Shisui spoke amusedly. "Then again, these kids are something else."

"You can just say they're stupid, Shisui," I chirped. He wouldn't be wrong if he _did_ say that. For each intelligent phrase Naruto uttered, an equally idiotic one would undoubtedly come soon after.

"It's a wonder how such stupid kids could be staring us down right now, though," Itachi commented. "Are you sure you only _just_ gave her somewhat harsh treatment half a decade ago?"

I didn't have to look to see which kid it was, but I did anyways. "I'm _positive_."

While Naruto and Sasuke walked side by side in front of her, Sakura lingered behind, shooting daggers at the tree we were residing in. I was certain she hadn't noticed the presences of Itachi and Shisui, but there was no doubt in my mind that she—through some kind of fucked up new development—had noticed me.

What the hell kind of game was she trying to play here?

* * *

 **Sakura's behavior gets even more suspicious, and Naruto has a new jutsu! Are you guys liking the tweaks I've made so far to the original timeline?  
**

 **To be perfectly honest with you guys, finishing this chapter was such a struggle. This week has literally been awful, so that's my excuse for a somewhat delayed update.**

 **My horrible week would seem a million times better if you could give me a review though!**

 **I love you guys to the moon and back, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have a great day!~**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

"So catching Tora is still an accepted mission? I thought people would've avoided it so much that it would have been blacklisted by Hokage-sama by now?" Shisui joked, lightly laughing at the plight of our favorite boys.

We walked along the rooftops of Konoha, not caring if we were spotted. After the first year or so of our mission, the Hokage had taken careful measures to create an adequate identity for Shisui, ensuring that who he really was remained obscured to all those uninvolved. He was allowed to rest leisurely in the outskirts of Konoha whenever he was in town under two conditions.

He could not communicate with Naruto in anyway—even while disguised—and he could not seek out Danzo either. It was, to the say the least, a rather minute request from the Third, and Shisui had little trouble with conceding to it. This was as close he could ever get to returning to a somewhat ordinary life, even as a shinobi, and he wouldn't let the chance slip by.

"C'mon, why would the Hokage ban _the_ Tora terror missions? They might be the bane of every genin's career, but they're also the chosen form of entertainment for all people ranked above them," I spoke pointedly, as if I were quoting a universal truth.

"It's the bane of our careers too, Mai. We've watched them catch the damned cat at _least_ five times. That's a pretty incredible record considering they've only been genin for, what—two weeks? Three?" he spoke wryly, though in truth there was no _real_ irritation in his voice.

Peaceful times like these were not to be taken for granted, and everyone who _wasn't_ a genin knew that. Complaining about boredom was simply a shinobi's way of trying to fabricate a 'normal' personality.

"I wouldn't be so quick to complain." I spared him a secretive smile as we arrived outside of the Hokage's office. "They're about to leave for their first C-ranked mission today, and it won't be a pleasant one."

He quirked an eyebrow. "And you know this how?"

"Naruto's patience is only going to last so long, Shisui. From all the complaining he and Sasuke have done over the last couple weeks, I just have a hunch that they'll be at their limit today," I lied, following the somewhat made up story with a bit of truth. "That, and I may have also convinced them to argue for a C-ranked mission today."

He flicked my forehead, clicking his tongue as he did so, and ignoring the lengthy explanation for my near-clairvoyant predictions. "What did I tell you about using my name while we're in public?" he chastised.

I returned his scolding with a belittling movement of my own. Reaching up, I gently smacked his forehead with the back of my hand. "If someone managed to eavesdrop on us without you, a former ANBU operative, noticing, we probably have a lot more to worry about than whether or not they heard me using your name. In fact, we'd probably have already been cut down if they were able to get that close to us anyways."

He sighed in exasperation, probably deciding that an argument as pointless as this one wasn't worth continuing. "And Morbid Mai makes her debut."

As our half-serious bickering winded down, Team 7 exited the Hokage's building looking as (mostly) chipper as ever.

Naruto was practically _skipping_ towards the village gates, singing a made up tune about his first trip out of Konoha. A few steps behind from Naruto, Sasuke looked a little less visibly excited, but the ghost of an amused smile on his lips said it all. Even Kakashi seemed to watch the two boys fondly as they began their first real mission. Between the two boys and their sensei was a ragged looking man—Tazuna, if I recalled correctly. It was a wonder that they hadn't figured out that something was off about their newest

mission; before it even started, their client seemed overly precautious about their journey.

And then there was Sakura.

It was becoming quite obvious that her lack of passion for the path she had chosen wasn't just a slump she had fallen into. Everything she had done while under my watch had practically _dripped_ with apathy. There was no other explanation to it—no way of faking it so well. Sakura really did not care about her life this time around, and this was becoming more and more of a pressing issue as we went further down the line.

Heeding Shisui's warning about the two of us being exposed, I placed more effort into obscuring our presences. Hoping that the first time she had detected me was really just fluke was the most I could do to stop myself from losing it. Everything about her put me on edge—the easygoing way she walked, her lack of communication with the rest of the team, an unignorable, silent declaration of war against those who had underestimated her.

None of it made sense.

Sakura didn't make sense—and that was something that I couldn't afford. Every move I wanted to make and every person I wanted to save all depended on me being able to accurately know the outcome of certain events. If Sakura could change so drastically from a minor encounter with me, there was no telling what else could have gone wrong with the timeline since my entrance into it.

"Mai," Shisui whispered, placing a hand on my shoulder and jolting me out of my panicked thoughts. I flinched away from his touch, but he didn't begin to apologize as he usually did. He was too preoccupied with staring at something below us, and every bit of me already knew what it was. "We've been found."

I spared Sakura a glance as both Shisui and I began to shunshin out of the area. We both vanished into a whirlpool of leaves, with the last sight I saw being her cocky grin.

She was looking me in the eye.

Within a matter of seconds, Shisui and I stood on the opposite side of the entrance into the village, both of us somewhat hidden in the surrounding forest. He looked just as disturbed as I was.

"How did she…" he trailed off, not wanting to acknowledge it just as much as I did.

"I don't know." I didn't let my tone of voice betray how shaken up I really felt whenever Sakura was present, but Shisui knew me well enough to understand when something was off.

"I'll look into it once we're back in the village." He was acting as if he was doing it for himself, but it would have taken willful ignorance on my part to not have seen that he was investigating the matter for my peace of mind.

I couldn't let him get involved with something as suspicious as Sakura's sudden change in personality.

"No thanks," I forced out through gritted teeth. "I can solve this one on my own. I'm not a kid anymore, y'know. Besides, you have something else to focus on right now."

"Like what?" he asked, bemused. "I haven't received any messages from Itachi or Jiraiya about there being more information for me to pass on."

I stilled. I was positive _someone_ would have debriefed him by now. I mean, why else would he have tagged along while I trailed Team 7? There was no way he was carefree enough to do such a menial task simply because he was bored, or because he wanted to be in someone's company, right?

The confused look on his face indicated otherwise.

This was going to be a pain in the ass to deal with if he wanted to get out of our mission now.

"Remember that mission I was assigned to a few weeks ago? The one where Team 7 and I are both basically babysitting each other in some weird checks and balances ordeal?"

Realization seemed to have dawned on him. "You didn't."

"I did."

" _Kid_."

Frantically waving my hands to show him that I had meant no harm, I began to babble an explanation. I wasn't any good with verbal confrontation anymore. "Hokage-sama wanted me to tail Team 7 because of the suspicious activity that they're expected to get involved in—y'know, based on the information that Itachi got us. Naruto can't exactly bring his entire ANBU guard crew with him, so I was given permission to come up with a trustworthy team."

"And I'm…" It was as if it physically pained him to vocalize it.

I grimaced at his lack of enthusiasm. "Congratulations on somehow receiving a mission in the grave."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, then raised his head to reveal the grin he had been hiding. "And here I was, thinking I had finally been given vacation time. Oh well, I'd much rather be on active duty anyways."

I did a doubletake.

"You knew all along, didn't you?"

"Hokage-sama told me before I ran into you during Naruto's fight with Mizuki-san, but…"

"You figured it'd be more fun if you dragged it out and scared the shit out of me right before the actual start of the mission," I finished for him, eyes narrowed at the sheepish Uchiha.

"You're just too easy to tease."

I shook my head, but refrained from lingering on the small joke. Our time left until Team 7 would reach the gates was dwindling by the second, and I had to debrief him as quickly as comprehensibly possible. From the looks of it, I couldn't to let anything too consequential slip while in the presence of Sakura. I didn't know if her new identity was harmful, but I didn't intend on finding out the hard way either.

"They're going to the Land of Waves."

This time he seemed genuinely confused as to why that tidbit of information was important.

"It's essentially being held hostage by Gato," I added, and Shisui's expression grew darker in response. "I've heard they've been struggling with money, and I suspect that the C-rank mission our boys have been given isn't a C-rank at all."

His eyes narrowed at the lack of trepidation in my tone. "And you haven't told the Hokage because?"

I gave him a casual shrug. "Growing pains will be good for them. Besides, anything they can't handle, we can."

He still looked dubious, but it was far too late to back out now. I waited until the last possible second to break the worst of the news to him. "Rumor has it that Gato has hired a few mercenaries."

"Isn't that common?"

I frowned. "Yes, but… they're not just _any_ mercenaries." I _really_ didn't want to be the one to inform him of who our probable opponents are.

"Spit it out."

"Remember that guy that all of Konoha's shinobi force was joking about going mad in Kirigakure?"

He and I both knew damn well how vague that description was. "Half of Kiri's shinobi have gone nuts. You're gonna have to be a little more specific than that."

I cringed. He was seriously going to give me a smack upside the head if I outright admitted to what I had dragged him into. "The assassin involved in Kiri's failed coup…"

"Mai."

"Shisui," I addressed back, smiling sweetly.

" _Mai_."

This was where the hard part was. Shisui noticed my hesitation to continue speaking and groaned. "There's more to it, isn't there?"

"You know me too well." There was no point in prolonging this. "Technically speaking, you are the superior in this mission because of our difference in rank, but if it's all the same to you, once we engage in combat with Momochi-san… would you only attack to incapacitate?"

"It is _definitely_ not all the same to me," Shisui sighed, now looking genuinely exasperated with my request. Then the corners of his mouth twitched up ever so slightly. "But I guess it's time I finally makeup that favor I owe you for dealing with Naruto and Sasuke for so long."

His agreement to go along with my scheme came just in time for us to avoid communicating with each other with Team 7 around. As loud and boisterous as ever, the group exited the village and began the journey to the Land of Wave at an easy pace. No one—not even the consistently surprising Sakura—gave any indication of their knowledge of Shisui's and my presence.

"The sun is pretty hot today," Shisui commented a couple hours into the trek.

It was code for an ambush from an unidentified group.

Below us, the out-of-place puddle glistened almost blindingly, and any experienced shinobi would have detected the presences hidden within it by now. While Team 7 might have been well trained, the one thing they lacked—besides normalcy—was just that. Experience.

To prevent them from having to go through the trouble of dealing with an enemy attack while on what was _supposed_ to be an easygoing mission, Shisui readied a kunai to take care of their opponents for them.

Before I could intervene, the two Demon Brothers revealed themselves to the group, and Shisui released the deadly weapon.

A weapon that couldn't be allowed to prevent the crucial skirmish from happening.

Team 7 _needed_ to be involved in this battle if they didn't want to perish in their fight with Zabuza. As talented as they might be in a training environment, experience in battle would almost always be the deciding factor in the end. Exceptional abilities didn't matter if they couldn't be used in an actual altercation.

I was left with few other options.

I threw myself in front of Shisui, intent on blocking his attack.

* * *

 **:D A speedy update 'cause I felt bad for taking so long for the last one. Mai is back at it again with getting stupidly injured due to her compulsive movements. Mai's decided to save Zabuza! Do you think she's gonna be able to pull it off?**

 **I updated Dead Men Tell Some Tales, another Naruto fanfic that I've written, and I would love if you guys could check it out an leave feedback!**

 **I'd love to get some reviews for this chapter too, though lol. If you liked it, please feel free to leave a comment, even a small one!**

 **Have a great day!~**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

I hadn't meant to do it.

I really, _really_ hadn't meant to do it.

Every logical thought in my body and every harsh lesson that had been instilled into me since the start of this life had screamed for me to do anything _but_ jump into harm's way, yet still, my body moved. Pulling out a kunai to deflect Shisui's attack or simply grabbing onto his arm to distract him—either action would have worked if I had done it.

But I didn't.

I _couldn't_.

 _My body wasn't listening to me._

At the worst possible moment, I was being reminded that this body—this _life—_ was _not mine_. (I'm _mAi?_ _ **MaI? MAI?**_ _No_ I'm _NoT nOT_ _ **NOT**_ **.** )

Shisui's mouth formed the beginning of a curse, but he refrained; he was too experienced to blow our cover over single injury. The kunai hadn't impaled anything _too_ important—simply lodging itself in my forearm. Miraculously, I had regained control of my body just in time to avoid a more grievous stabwound.

He wasted no time in hightailing out of there with me, disregarding the skirmish the boys had gotten into. He ignored my hushed protests, and I didn't have the strength to argue any further against his actions. The grim line his lips were set in made it all the more apparent how furious he was at my reckless behavior.

I resisted the urge to flinch away as he made contact with me—I only didn't mind touch when it was initiated by myself—but the numbing sensation spreading through my arm made it obvious as to why he was in such a hurry to attend to what would usually be classified as a minor injury. His damned kunai was poisoned.

Within seconds, we were half a mile from the main road. Now able to speak as we so pleased, Shisui began his lecture.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he snapped, inducing a startled jerk from me. He grabbed hold of my wrist as he continued on with his scolding, intent on both performing first aid _and_ lecturing. "You've trained under me. Hell, you've even trained under _Itachi,_ and you're still pulling stupid shit like that? You're gonna get yourself killed!"

He was furious, and he had every right to be. I had jeopardized the mission _and_ had gotten myself injured in the process, yet still I paid him no mind. Misinterpreting the apprehensive look on my face to be a result of his yelling, he pulled back as soon as he was finished with extracting the venom.

It wasn't him that I was so afraid of, though.

It was myself.

I had always expected so—Mai wasn't just a person fabricated for the sole sake of being my, for lack of a better word, _vessel_. Eleven fuckin' years I had denied the possibility, but now it was getting just a little too difficult to ignore. I was in a body that wasn't mine—one that wasn't ever mine from the very beginning—and I was finally starting to get kicked out.

"Sorry," I muttered, not because I was apologetic in the slightest, but because Shisui's damned shouting was clouding my thoughts. "I won't do it again."

He snapped. Grabbing both of my shoulders, he forced my attention onto him. "Are you joking? You won't do it again? You've _been_ reckless since the very beginning!"

I stilled.

As rough as he was being, there was no denying his accusation. My mind raced through the various times I had put myself in a situation where harm could come to me—foolishly speaking of future events in front Itachi, diving head-first over a cliff, disobeying Shisui's orders when he had insisted on me staying in place on the night of the massacre.

Everything I did defied all reason, and now it was all becoming clear to me. It wasn't just purely rash thoughts that had fueled those responses, though that was a large part of it. For years I had written it off as feelings overwriting rational thinking, but this incident was different.

It was just a kunai from Shisui; one that, had it hit its mark, would've been relatively harmless to the overarching timeline. Naruto might have missed out on realizing the inherently weak state of most humans, but that would've happened anyways when they had gone up against Zabuza. If worse had come to worst, Shisui and I could have jumped into Zabuza's first fight with Team 7, and all would have ended well.

I knew that, but my body hadn't.

Based on all the shit that I had needlessly dragged myself through over the course of a little over a decade, it was easy to discern what the source of my behaviour most likely was.

It was probably Mai—the _original_ Mai.

"Mai! Are you listening to me?" Shisui snapped out of irritation over the lack of a response.

( _I'm not M_ _ **aI**_.)

I forced myself to look him in the eye, offering a sheepish smile. "I'm listening. I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking."

Brushing my fingers against the now-bandaged wound, I placed my hands on Shisui to push myself up onto my feet. I wasn't sure if I was mentally stable enough to keep my mouth shut if he pressed the issue any further. "We should get back to where Team 7 is. It wouldn't do us well if we were to lose them."

He seemed to be at a loss for words, obviously disliking how casually I was handling things, but there was little he could do to argue against my suggestion. Falling behind Team 7 wasn't an issue—it'd be quite easy to catch up considering their slow pace with Tazuna—but ensuring their safety was something we couldn't exactly do from a mile away. No matter how badly he wanted to further discuss my actions, slacking on this mission wasn't an option; he had to let the matter go.

"Just don't be stupid," he sighed, settling for a short warning while we prepared to get back on course.

"I wouldn't even dream of it," I chirped, eager to end the conversation.

Wordlessly, Shisui placed a hand on my head, disregarding my phobia of physical contact. I tensed up as he did so, but the sadness in his expression stopped me from pulling away.

He was still taller than me, though the gap between our heights had gotten considerably smaller. _He_ seemed smaller—no longer the steady and strong figure I had once imagined him to be. It was a sight I didn't want to see—so dejected and lost, and, oh _god_ , the way he was looking at me seemed so _morose_ that it made my heart ache, though only for a fraction of a second.

He was probably wondering where the hell the kid he had practically raised had gone.

I grabbed his wrist, tugging his hand off of me. "We have to go."

He sighed softly—such a small thing to do that I almost missed it with my back turned—but there was nothing I could do to ease his worries about me; I was already worried enough about myself. This entire time, the one who had nearly dragged me back into my grave hadn't been the angered citizens, that sinister old man, or even Itachi.

 _I_ was the greatest danger to myself.

Despite the dire circumstances that had driven Shisui to make such a speedy escape and the lingering effects of the poison in my system, our journey back took half as long. It was true that now he wasn't weighed down with the weight of another person, but the short amount of time it took to return to Team 7 was in large part due to a feeling I had not felt in _years_.

 _Fear_. I was _afraid_ of something. Myself, maybe, or even Shisui's insistence in prodding into my past. After meeting with Shisui for the first time in years, the facade I had kept up for over a decade was crumbling to pieces. It hadn't even been over a _month_ yet, but everything just went _wrong_ when he was around.

And that was yet another reminder of something I had so desperately avoided lingering on.

Shisui and I—we both had one thing in common now.

Neither of us should be alive. Taking him along on this mission was a death wish for both of us, and I was the fool who had been blind to it.

Hidden among the surplus of trees that made up the Land of Fire's surrounding forests, Shisui and I settled for a observing the team from afar. It wouldn't do any good for us if we were detected by Sakura yet again. But while the distance gave us freedom from Sakura's uncanny ability to sense our presences, it also gave Shisui the freedom to speak.

Thankfully, he was being sympathetic to my reluctance to speak about my careless actions—probably out of guilt from grabbing me so suddenly—and chose not to press the issue any further. Instead, he did what he had always done best; he made the mood lighter.

"They say siblings share a sense of pain, but I didn't think you'd take it quite so literally," he joked, referring to the injury Naruto had sustained out of pure negligence on his part.

"Apples don't fall too far from the tree, but they also don't fall very far from each other," I concurred, grateful that things were proceeding relatively smoothly despite getting stabbed myself. "To give myself a little credit, though, I don't think I would've extracted the poison with his method."

"Then again, you _have_ become quite skilled at being Konoha's second most unpredictable brat," Shisui quipped, but I ignored the small jab.

Once again, something was off about the scene unfolding before us. Naruto had gone and stabbed himself to prove his resolve, and Kakashi had repeated the same line about blood loss and whatnot, but the difference lay in how the other genin were taking it.

Sasuke seemed humbled—perhaps even _awed—_ at how Naruto had handled himself, and Naruto still felt the same sense of begrudging admiration for his rival. Those changes and similarities came as no surprise to me; the boys had formed a _hopefully_ inseverable bond over the years.

But once more, the odd one out was Sakura.

Rather than fawning over Sasuke's reflexes as she had the first time around, or even fretting over the somewhat serious injury Naruto had gotten, Sakura _giggled_ —so softly that I swore my mind was playing tricks on me.

But the dark look on Shisui's face confirmed that I had heard correctly.

"Sorry, Mai." Shisui gazed down at the pinkette, obscuring his eyes from my sight. That _cursed_ smile—the same one he had adorned on the night of the massacre—appeared on his face. He _knew_ that I was more than just a bit concerned about the strange way Sakura was acting. "I don't doubt that you'll be able to handle her oddities on your own, but, for my own peace of mind, I'm going to have to investigate too."

Every bit of me wanted to order him not to, but all evidence pointed to the fact that something was terribly, _terribly_ wrong with who _should've_ been Konoha's greatest medic nin. The giggle itself was relatively harmless—the implications, though, not so much. She was practically _gloating_ about how little she truly cared for her team—how little she cared for a boy she should have _loved._ Even if I had got down on hands and knees and _groveled_ , Shisui still would have insisted on looking further into her behavior. Hell, even _I_ wanted check out why Sakura was so _fucked_ in the head this time around.

Surely a little scuffle with me couldn't have driven her to turn so malicious, right?

(This is why I sh _oulDn'T eXiST shouldn't_ _ **exiSt**_ _. I FuCK up ev_ _ **eryThInG**_ **.** _Die dIE_ _ **die**_.)

I gritted my teeth. Knowing that the whole goddamned Universe was conspiring to put the two of us back into our rightful graves was worrying enough in its own right. Adding Sakura into the mix would only complicate things further, and letting Shisui die after all the _fucking shit_ I had gone through to save his life wasn't an option I was going to consider.

I knew it would come one day, but I never thought I'd be driven to this corner so soon.

Mirroring what he had done just moments before, I hid my own face from him. "Shisui, let's go ahead of them."

' _Shisui, we have to talk in private_.'

He looked up, surprised, but nodded. Wordlessly, he followed me as I sped up our pace, creating a larger distance between us and Team 7.

I didn't want to do this.

But I also didn't want Shisui to blindly walk into a trap.

By the time we reached a place that was adequate enough to hold a confidential conversation, what little confidence I had in my ability to finally come clean had vanished. Something told me how lightheaded I felt was due to more than just the remaining traces poison in my veins. I was completely and utterly _terrified_.

"We always reveal the most confidential things in the strangest of places," Shisui mused, referring the rundown dock house—though it was more of a shed, if anything— that we had found cover in. We had made it to the Land of Wave.

It was creepily reminiscent of the abandoned houses we were sheltered in on _that_ night all those years ago, and I didn't like it one bit. If anything, I could take it was an ominous warning of what was to come due to my loose lips.

But there was no turning back now.

Curiously, and somewhat cautiously, Shisui looked me in the eye. "What is it, Mai?"

Putting it off was useless—I had gone in too deep.

And so, I did it.

I lied.

"I-I see things." I let the words bubble out of me from sheer panic. There was not a damned pep talk in the entire _Universe_ that could give me enough courage to spit out the full truth, but even so, this fib was a start.

Shisui seemed unfazed. "You see things?"

"Y-Yes." I nodded, refusing to meet his gaze. "Er, since I was a little kid, I've seen… _visions_. They're not _always_ right, but I still see them, a-and I don't think certain things that happened played out the way that Fate had intended them to."

"Ah, so I should've died before the massacre, right?"

"A-And there's—" I froze.

 _What_?

I didn't even attempt to hide my surprise. Unable to regain control over my composure, I turned to him looking visibly startled. Practically shouting despite protocol calling for a hushed whisper at loudest, I asked the most obvious question. " _How'd you know_?"

With a closed-eye smile, he laughed sheepishly. "You didn't think I was _that_ oblivious, did you? For a jounin, you sure do underestimate people a lot."

"Special jounin," I mumbled, so shocked that my mind had only comprehended the latter part of his reveal.

Shisui waved away my correction. "Jounin, special jounin, they're both accomplishments to be proud of. Getting promoted solely due to your skill in covert operations is a feat in and of itself, but that's besides the point."

"How'd you know?" I repeated again, letting his compliment go in one ear and out the other.

Sensing how shaken I was, he dropped his casual air and spoke gently. "It wasn't all that hard. You were pretty worried about an unexplainable thing for _months_ before that night, and there was no way you could have simply stumbled upon Itachi and I by pure coincidence. All it took was a little bit of belief in the paranormal, and, well, everything else was fairly easy to guess from there."

I was as pale as a sheet. "Does—Do they?" I couldn't even formulate a proper response.

"Naruto and Sasuke don't know."

That made me feel a bit better—I wasn't _totally_ exposed. Shisui revealed that he had known _something_ was up, but hadn't questioned the validity of my confession. Regardless of how strangely I had acted at some points, he couldn't possibly have deduced that I was just one big ole' reincarnated fuck-up.

I started to breathe a bit easier. Persuading him to leave the Sakura issue alone was going to be a lot less hard if he knew _why_ I was so concerned.

"But I'm still gonna investigate Haruno's circumstances."

Or not.

"B-But why?" I sputtered, intent on following the exclamation with a lecture on why he shouldn't, but the firm way he had stated his resolve silenced me.

"You said it yourself, didn't you?" He wasn't looking at me anymore when he spoke. "I was never meant to have made it this long anyways."

"But that doesn't mean you should just go off on your own and die! There's something off about her. She noticed us, Shisui! Do you get the implications behind that?" I snapped back, not caring about the volume that my voice was at. I'd gone to hell and back—quite literally, if my time in Itachi's makeshift Void was taken into account—to save this kid, and here he was trying to throw it all out the window.

There was something truly _sinister_ about how Sakura had turned out. She hadn't just _changed_ ; something inside of her had to have snapped, and there was no telling how messy it would be if Shisui got involved in a situation of that magnitude. There were only a few things that were wicked enough in Konoha that could alter a bright child in such a way.

"I'm not gonna go off and die, Mai."

"Then what are you—"

"But I don't want Sasuke or Naruto to 'go off and die' either," he cut me off, knowing that mentioning those two boys possibly meeting abrupt ends due to him _not_ investigating would end my protests.

I visibly deflated, aware that I had lost to his reasoning. No matter how desperately I wanted him to stay out of it, Naruto and Sasuke's survival in this world came first. Anyone else's death would be an inconvenience; those two boys dying would quite literally mean the end of the goddamned world.

But if Shisui was going to go through with this—if he was going to dive headfirst into whatever nightmarish hell that had changed Sakura so drastically—then he wasn't doing it alone.

"Okay."

"Okay?" he repeated, bemused at how easily I had stopped objecting. "That was pretty fa—"

"But this isn't going to be a one-person task."

He pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "And who's going to be with me? _You_?"

"That's for me to know, and for you to eventually find out."

Before he could vocalize how much he disliked the idea of more people being dragged into this trouble, our conversation came to an abrupt end.

A white rabbit peered out from a faraway bush.

* * *

 **Mai has (somewhat) spilled the beans, and the snow rabbit has appeared which means... Zabuza's out! Sakura's still being creepy, and Shisui wants to look further into it... dun dun dunnn. What do you guys think happened to her? If you don't like Sakura, don't worry, this storyline will now be mostly in the background from next chapter and onward!**

 **Who else do you guys think Mai will drag in on the secret?**

 **If you liked the chapter(or even if you didn't) be sure to leave a review! Let's celebrate 60k words and 500 followers! :D**

 **Have a great day!~**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

 **IMPORTANT: *Please read the A/N this time around.**

* * *

From my limited experience in life, there was only one thing I had learned that rang true time and time again.

What you want to avoid most will happen when you want it least.

I supposed that's why Shisui and I stood pressed up against the rotted wood that made up what could barely be described as a shed on the dock, cursing our luck and praying for divine intervention to prevent us from committing a royal fuck-up.

What had interrupted our long awaited talk had seemed innocent enough. At first glance, it was just a rabbit in its environment, doing whatever it is that rabbits do. A second look, however, hinted towards a more sinister purpose for the rabbit's presence—an animal bred solely for the purpose of a body switch.

We weren't alone anymore.

Despite the eternity that had passed since the first time I had witnessed the scene, I remembered it well. The bunny was the first sign of a man who would arguably become one of Naruto's greatest influence for his personalized ninja way, but knowing who it was did little to help in the situation.

In a fight between Team 7 and Zabuza alone, the odds may have been dubious, but with Shisui's and my presence—even with the injured arm and the shaken spirits—there was no doubt as to who who would reign victorious in a skirmish. Purely winning wasn't an issue that I had much to worry about.

Winning with everyone's changed personalities _without_ obvious intervention on our part, however, was another story. If worse came to worst, Shisui and I could easily jump in and save the day—a classic little heroic move—but that was a last option among last options.

After all, Shisui was—to Naruto and Sasuke— _dead_.

In front of us stood an enemy who needed to be kept alive—a man who I had resolved to let live on—and behind us rowed the ones who would eventually trigger his demise. Obscured from sight on both ends, Shisui and I could only wait with bated breath as the soft sound of oars slicing through water was heard.

Shisui was tucked behind me, the two of us having wedged ourselves between a mini alleyway of sorts that was created by two rundown units. While within such close proximity of each other, I could feel his erratic heartbeat as I pressed against his chest.

He was nervous, and he had every damn right to be. If I hadn't been privy to how the original fight had transpired, I would have been just as jittery as he was. There was no circumstance more terrifying than a wet-behind-the-ears group of genin being forced to go up against an infamously violent missing-nin. If the team were to be made up of any other collection of brats, they'd have all signed a death warrant from themselves.

But this wasn't just any other team—this was _Team 7_ , a few kids who'd grow up to save the world. We had little to worry about.

Knowing this, I tugged on his wrist, drawing his attention down to my hand. I formed an 'O' with my hand, signaling non-intervention on our part. There was no need for me to turn around to imagine what kind of incredulous look he was giving me, but nevertheless he would have to obey my orders. He might have been higher ranking than me, but this was a mission that _I_ was assigned and a mission that _I_ would lead.

The sound of rowing ceased, letting us know that they had finally arrived at the dock. With our hearts in our throats, we watched as Team 7 unknowingly walked by our hiding place. It was hard to not breath a sigh of relief once they'd all gone by—not even Sakura had shown anything that suggested she had noticed our presences. For now, we could safely remain as bystanders.

"Sasuke, you're not gonna hog all of the glory here!" Naruto declared, naively skipping ahead of the group.

Sasuke snorted, but the sound lacked the indignant superior feel it had once had in quite literally another lifetime. "Do whatever you can to keep up then, Dobe."

"My money's on both of you doing something stupid to off all of us," Sakura chirped, uncharacteristically making a morbid joke. "Let's just try our best to _keep our heads on our bodies_ , okay?"

I shuddered at the sing-song way she had said the last bit—were children supposed to be so unperturbed by mentions of beheadings?

"Did you knock some of your ghoulish humor into her head when you sparred with her or something?" Shisui mumbled, just as offput as I was about Sakura's casual attitude towards death.

I shook my head at his joke, then motioned for the two of us to poke our heads of the corner to watch the team.

Kakashi moved to condescendingly pat Sakura's head, but his eye lacked any hint of amusement towards her words. "That's the spirit."

She rolled her eyes at his treatment of her, but made no further comment, letting them proceed as they had been.

As they tentatively moved further into the bit of woods that bordered the shoreline, Naruto kept himself on high-alert. His friendly rivalry with Sasuke, coupled together with his undying resolve, had made it so that he really _would_ never fall too short to the Uchiha. Staying true to his words, it wasn't long until he did what he'd done the first time around.

At a speed much faster than I'd had thought Naruto could reach, a kunai was thrown into a nearby bush, effectively scaring the wits out of the unsuspecting target. The team approached the shrub with caution, but the lack of any sudden attack launched on them led to a momentarily let-down guard.

"Nice job, Dobe," Sasuke teased as the leaves were brushed aside to reveal a rabbit foaming at the mouth in fear.

Kakashi remained silent as the two boys put on a comical show; he knew what was coming.

It was the innocuous rustling of leaves that sprung him into actions—yet another valuable lesson for the fresh-faced genin to learn. Not a single thing was to be trusted in the shinobi world.

"Everyone, get down!"

Trained to obey every command as soon as it's said, the students and their client dived down onto the dirt road.

Almost all of the students, that is.

While Naruto, Sasuke, and Tazuna had missed being executed Zabuza's blade by a hair's width, the anomaly that had stood out like a sore thumb for so long did so once again.

With horror in our eyes, we—Kakashi, Shisui, and I—watched helplessly as Sakura stood up straight and proud. Before any of us could leap into action, the semicircle cut into the blade surrounded Sakura's neck. With sinking hearts, we stared as she did the unthinkable.

She looked _me_ in the eye and _grinned_.

It was a movement so small that it could only be caught by the most experienced of eyes—us jounin. The smile is maniacal, displaying a clear disconnect from reality in her mind, but before it can register in our heads, the sword has already continued on in its path, eventually lodging itself in a tree trunk.

Bile rises up to the back of my mouth as my eyes strained to stare at the spot where Sakura had been standing. Every bit of me was certain that I would see the rain of blood—her headless body collapsed on the floor—but as the dust settled, it revealed something even more inconceivable.

 _Nothing_.

Her body wasn't there, and while droplets of blood stained the ground, there wasn't nearly enough to indicate that the crazy bitch had gone and lost her head. Unable to help my curious eyes, I traced the course the blade had gone in, certain that the foot of scenery I saw would reveal her headless corpse.

It never did.

Instead, what bestowed our eyes was even more frightening than the idea of the world's heroine being killed in action at the very start of the story. Sakura stood pinned against the tree and the blade, her neck only millimeters away from being sliced cleanly through. Her emerald eyes stared at the blade, widened in what looked to be shock. If we hadn't witnessed the deranged beam she had given us seconds before, we might've _believed_ her feigned fright.

A drop of blood hit the gravel.

Our eyes traveled to the source of the injury—her hand—and my determination to keep Shisui far, _far_ away from the little demon _bitch_ was hardened. She had sacrificed usability of her hand to give us the little spectacle—having used it to stop the momentum of the blade just enough to prevent it from killing her. It was all done on purpose—the eerie joke, the crazed grin, letting the attack throw her through the air only to stop it with ease—but for what, I didn't know.

Zabuza hadn't swung at full force; that much was obvious. If all shinobi went all out while battling genin, there'd be a serious deforestation issue. Sakura had taken a gamble in not dodging—if Zabuza _had_ put his all into the attack, her mind wouldn't be the only thing that was lost. She was ballsy enough to risk her life to prove a point that none of us understood, but strong enough to where the possible consequences didn't matter all _that_ much—a dangerous combination.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto howled, eyes widened in horror as all he registered was the fact that his comrade had, in one way or another, gotten injured.

As reckless with himself as always, he pounced towards Zabuza, practically snarling as he charged forward without a single regard for his own life. Surprisingly, Sasuke followed his lead, both of them fueled by an indescribable rage upon seeing their comrade nearly decapitated.

Kakashi cursed, putting his all into holding the two boys back rather than retrieving Sakura from Zabuza's clutches.

"Kakashi-sensei! Let us go!"

"The bastard has Sakura-chan!" Naruto growled, sounding feral.

"Calm down. We aren't his target." Kakashi didn't waver at the sound of their pleas. In a tone that gave no room for further protest, he batted down the boys' efforts at convincing him to allow them to waltz into their deaths. "I'll handle this. Protect Tazuna."

Standing on a branch a few meters away from his sword, Zabuza quirked an eyebrow and Kakashi's apparent lack of concern for his genin. "Kakashi of the Sharingan, huh? I wonder who it'll be, you or me?"

They both moved at lightening speeds, long before most of us bystanders understood what he meant.

As his fingers wrapped around the grip of his sword, Zabuza gave a sharp laugh. "Guess I won. I got to your genin first." Incapable of doing anything else, we watched as he pushed the blade through the trunk—delivering a blow that should've surely finished Sakura off.

With gritted teeth, Shisui and I held each other back. (Though whether it was the original Mai or me who was begging to be released into the fight, I didn't know.) Even if we _wanted_ to intervene, we couldn't. Our mission wasn't to guard Team 7 as a whole; our mission was keeping two of Konoha's greatest tools alive—a reality that was hard to admit. Rescuing Sakura, preventing her from dying—it wasn't our duty.

For Team 7, their feelings were the driving force behind every action that they did, but Shisui and I weren't Team 7. We were jounin—jounin trained to specialize in covert operations at that. Letting a comrade die was an unfortunate sacrifice that we'd been prepared to take—what mattered here was keeping our identities hidden, keeping our rouse up.

But, unlike us, Kakashi wasn't the type to abide to such rules.

A chuckle spilled out from beneath his mask, earning a bemused look from those who were certain that they had just watched Sakura get beheaded. "Sorry to give you false hope like that, but I think I've won this one."

What we had been perceiving as reality began to melt away.

We were released from his genjutsu, revealing a perfectly unscathed Sakura in Kakashi's arms and a glaringly bright red eye.

"Sensei," Sasuke started, completely baffled. "What the hell is this?!"

Though he was clearly referring to the sharingan that a non-Uchiha like Kakashi _definitely_ should not have had, Kakashi brushed off his student's surprised exclamation. "Ah, I casted a genjutsu. Sorry for the scare, I just don't have all that much faith in your guys' acting skills."

A tick mark appeared on Sasuke's head, but there wasn't time to dwell on the specifics and drag out a proper answer from their aloof sensei.

They had an opponent to deal with.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I suppose I sound like a broken record at this point, but recently I've noticed an extreme drop in reviews. The number doesn't matter all that much to me, but what does matter is how that's supposed to be interpreted.**

 **To my readers, I sincerely apologize if I've let you down somehow through these recent chapters.**

 **Please feel free to leave a review or even a pm about how you feel about this fanfic so far. I enjoy writing it, but I see no purpose if you don't enjoy reading. I write to keep you all happy. Please allow me to continue doing so. I don't know what I'm doing wrong (or what I'm doing right) without feedback.**

 **I also am sorry for the solemn tone in this A/N. Things have gotten a bit tough recently outside of writing, so please bear with me. Thank you for your continued support over these past two years. It's been a tough but well-loved journey so far.**

 **Have a great day.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

"Shisui, we're gonna move forward without alerting them of our presences."

It was a quick decision, and perhaps not one that was well thought out, but I had seen all that I needed to see. However strange their dynamic had become, Team 7 was still undoubtedly Team 7—a collection of oddballs who had an unhealthy habit of leaning more towards flashy moves. All that had changed was the degree of it, or at least, that's what I had reasoned out in a feeble attempt at quelling my fears.

They wouldn't lose here, even without my interference.

Naruto and Sasuke stood side by side, for once appearing as real comrades. On the ground, forcing herself onto her bloodied hands and bruised knees, was Sakura, for once a pillar of strength within the team, albeit one that could not yet be deemed trustworthy. In front of his beloved students was Kakashi, and though he was already battered before the fight even started—a consequence of Sakura's reckless behavior—he finally seemed ready to be a sensei to the kids.

It might not be the way it played out originally, but that didn't make them any less strong—any less successful.

Regardless of how much I wanted to intrude to ensure that things worked out the way I wanted it to work out with my own two hands, that wasn't a viable option right now—not if I wanted to achieve a separate goal of mine. While their fight played out, there was something I had to do.

I had to locate Haku and trust that Zabuza would be handled accordingly.

For the first time in years, I was going to place my faith in Naruto.

"Mai—" Shisui began to protest, but his voice died out with a quick glance at my face.

"Zabuza isn't working alone."

"And?"

"I need you to figure out where their base is while I take care of his partner."

"We can't just leave Team 7 to deal with someone as powerful as Zabuza alone—"

"Shisui, _please_."

My eyes were obscured from his view—covered by matted bangs and a hung head—but there was no need for them to be the window into my soul at that moment. The grim line my lips were set in said more than enough. For a second, Shisui wasn't there with me—physically, yes, but mentally, he was gone. Perhaps he was debating whether or not to go along with my impulsive wishes, or maybe he was just wondering how accurate that saying was—that the more things changed, the more they'd stay the same.

I was always going to be reckless, and was always be going to be there to clean up after me.

"I'm not always gonna go along with your selfish whims forever, Mai," he sighed, but nonetheless began to scan the surroundings for an opening that would allow us to slip away.

I smiled at him before I spoke—a genuine one this time, regardless of the bittersweet tone that would accompany my words. "I know you won't, but for now, let's pretend that I'm still six, and you're still just as much of a pushover as you were back then. Can you find Gato's base?"

"You know I'd much rather help out here, but I'm trusting you, Mai." He gave me a grimace of a smile that I couldn't quite understand, but nonetheless lowered his head to signify that he was open to what I wanted to do. "So whose order is this?"

As I was about to move out, I paused to glance at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Is this a decision made by you as the leader of this mission, or a favor asked of you as a friend?"

The kids got into a defensive stance, surrounding Tazuna as the mist began to thicken. They were no longer the fragile children that I had once watched grow up. There was no mistaking it—these were the kids who'd one day grow up to be people who truly fit the title of 'hero'. They weren't just characters—they were _comrades_.

We were comrades.

"Both."

As Shisui flashed past me, he whispered two words of approval into my ear. "Fair enough."

I followed suit, heading in a separate direction from his so as to minimize both of our presences. It was a standard tactic used by most, if not all shinobi, settling on regrouping at a safe destination once the task was handled. As Shisui disappeared into the forest itself, I remained at its edge, scarcely hidden by the trees that lined the pathway.

Though my eyes couldn't see a single thing that seemed out of place, the presence of someone _else_ in the woods with me was something that I felt to the very core of my being—a feeling I just couldn't shake off. Many odd, miniscule things might've changed because of my meddling, but Haku's role as Zabuza's partner hadn't been one of them.

The kid was here, alright. I just had to find him.

Behind me, the sound of shadow clones being dispelled boomed through the forest—eight? Nine, perhaps? No more than a minute had passed since I had left them to their fight, and already it seemed more intense than it had been the first time around. Was it just my imagination—a result of actually witnessing it firsthand—or had the danger really escalated?

Every bit of me urged for my body to turn around—to go back to Naruto's side. This wasn't like his fight with Mizuki; Team 7's opponent wasn't a man who could be taken lightly without consequence. Arrogance could become one's undoing—and it very well might have been Zabuza's undoing during their first fight—but this time their enemy knew to be wary.

Sakura's radical behavior had _ensured_ that he'd fight them seriously from the very start.

 _Find Haku. Find Haku. Find Haku._

( _KiLl them kiLL ThEm_ _ **before they kill you**_.)

The further I got from the battle, the quieter it became—so quiet that I finally heard it.

There was no such thing as a completely obscured presence. To accomplish a feat like that was impossible; to exist was to _have_ a presence. The most one could achieve was minimizing one's presence to such a point of obscurity where it's _almost_ gone.

 _Almost_.

But still, they existed, and because they existed, they could be found.

The soft rustling of leaves tickled my ear with its sound—the wind? Or something more?

To a shinobi, though, it didn't matter. There was no such thing as being _too_ cautious. In a world like this, even the wind could harbor death. Whatever it was, I had to fight. To falter was to die.

Whether it was done out of impulse or instinct, I may never know. Before my mind could even begin to comprehend the cool metal pressed against my palm, the kunai had already left—launched into the surrounding trees.

One after another soft _thumps_ accompanied the noise made by the scraping leaves; the kunai were hitting the ground without meeting any resistance. The peace was so prolonged that I almost believed my suspicions were simply an overreaction on my part, until finally, the unmistakable sound of metal scraping against metal rang throughout the woods.

 _Left side—ten meters? Twenty?_

Another kunai slipped through my fingers towards where the sound originated from. This time, nothing is heard. Did he move? Or did I simply get the trajectory wrong?

The needle piercing my hand—the same hand that had gotten injured from Shisui's kunai—told me that it was the former. I hissed out a curse as the pain registered; the damn brat had targeted the injury on purpose. Just as Zabuza was not a person to scoff at, neither was Haku—underestimating this kid could very well be the death of me.

While the needle might've been tiny, the impact of it was not. Taken by surprise, the force behind it was enough to throw me off balance, if only for a fraction of a second.

Haku had his opening.

The familiar hunter nin mask appeared before me as I fell from the branch. As he pulled out more senbon, I twisted my body in a way that would protect my vitals. My breath hitched as each one lodged itself into my skin—not deep enough to be detrimental, but not shallow enough for me to carelessly yank out and go about my day.

Haku pulled back to find proper footing, giving me the chance to do the same. Before my back could could acquaint itself with the rock hard ground, I contorted my body once more in a way that'd place my feet beneath me. It wasn't the best landing that I could manage, but it was enough to get me into the fight looking relatively unscathed, save for the small trickles of blood leaking out from the senbon wounds.

If I wanted to make it back in time, I'd have to take this seriously.

While a dust cloud formed from my rough landing, I took a page out of Naruto's book. I didn't have the same massive chakra reserves as he did, but I sure as hell had enough to make a shadow clone or two. It might not have been planned on my part, but the dust cloud was giving me a rare opportunity to move in secret.

Clenching my teeth, I ripped out the few senbon that I feared would block the blood flow to any important bits of my body. I lacked the knowledge and experience that Haku had with using the compact weapons, but I was well-read enough to know that I couldn't afford to have any weird pressure points hit.

Wrist, arm, thigh. Three needles were yanked out of their place.

Once the dirt and dust cleared from the air, Haku and I stood a good twenty meters from each other—a distance far enough to for either of us to adequately dodge any projectiles.

I forced myself to take on an anxious look, grasping the kid's senbon in what seemed to be desperation. He seemed unperturbed as I threw his own weapons back at him, simply shifting his body a few inches to the side to allow the needles to harmlessly move past him. As they did, I gave him an ear splitting grin.

Between my teeth was a senbon—one stained with my own blood.

I could practically _pinpoint_ the _exact_ moment he connected the dots. Three senbon were thrown at him, and three were missing from my various wounds, but one of his was in my mouth. With a smug smile on my face, I took the last senbon out from between my teeth a rolled it between two fingers.

It was Haku's turn to be cornered now.

Panicked, he turned around to block whatever it was that had replaced his senbon, only to be met with my grin once again—the shadow clone I had created stood face to face with Haku. With reflexes as refined as ever, Haku shielded his own vitals with his forearms. Impulsively, he relaxed for a split second as he thought he had obstructed my plan.

Almost immediately, though, he realized his mistake.

* * *

" _Oi, Shisui, teach me something cool to learn. An A-rank technique, or something!" I demanded, arms stubbornly crossed as I addressed my mentor._

 _Two years had passed since the night of the massacre. They were two long years that I had spent as Sasuke and Naruto's rock—two long years that Shisui had spent playing dead. Even so, we still weren't used to it, and often we'd find ourselves training as if Shisui hadn't 'died' to the world—as if I hadn't gone mad._

" _No way, Mai. Do you_ _**want**_ _me to be gutted by Hokage-sama?" he asked, though we both knew that he was simply using that as an excuse._

" _Come_ _ **on**_ _. It's not like you'd be reprimanded or anything. To the village, you're_ _ **dead**_. _What are they gonna punish? Your headstone?" I snorted, not doing a very good job at politely convincing Shisui._

 _He hummed thoughtfully. "How about if I teach you how to shunshin instead?"_

 _I gave him an incredulous look. "Shunshin? I_ _ **know**_ _how to shunshin already. You're the one who taught me how to when we first started training together. Y'know, if you're forgetting things and going senile, you don't have to teach me anymore."_

" _No, no." He waved his hands to deny that suggestion that he might be losing it. "What I taught you was the standard shunshin technique. I'm thinking of teaching you_ _ **my**_ _way of using shunshin. How about it? You know, they used to call me—"_

" _Shunshin no Shisui, I know."_

" _So are you gonna learn it?"_

" _How is learning this going to benefit me?"_

 _He seemed to be at a loss for words. "Maybe you'll be able to visit Naruto in the academy without his friends seeing you."_

" _Get real, Shisui," I laughed. "I haven't seen those kids in years, and I don't plan on even risking that anytime soon."_

" _But," I grinned—it was undeniably just a performance on both of our parts, but we simply_ _ **needed**_ _to delude ourselves in this way to remain sane, "I'll learn it anyways."_

* * *

"Ack—" Haku let out a strangled cry as his own needle pierced his neck.

It wasn't a lethal attack, but it had the potential to be one—or at least, lethal in shinobi terms. If Haku moved too suddenly, or ripped out the senbon of his own accord, he could risk paralysis. Not being able to move was as good as a death sentence to nin who relied on their swift actions to live.

I had appeared behind him before he could move far enough away from my shadow clone, trapping him between the armed clone and my actual self. No matter how he moved, he was going to get hit one way or another.

He was thrown off of the branch from the shock of the hit, and for a moment I faltered. A part of me _wanted_ to let him fall—to let him land in a way that'd take him out of action for the rest of his life—but my logical side overrode that cruel urge. I chased after him, catching him just seconds before he would've crashed into the dirt.

Plastering an apologetic smile on my face, I set him down gently before I reached for what I had really been chasing after in the first place—his mask and clothing.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna have to borrow these for a bit."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I wanna apologize for taking a bit longer than usual to update. Fear not, I'm not abandoning this fic anytime soon.**

 **Last time, I asked for honest feedback, and boy did I get it. Thank you** _ **so**_ **much for sticking by me for so long, and letting me learn and grow. I realize I've been quite sloppy with my writing recently, and that Mai's character has taken a turn that a few of you dislike, but I promise she'll be fleshed out in these upcoming chapters. Again, thank you for giving me your criticism! I love that you guys care enough to help me improve as an author.**

 **Did you enjoy this chapter and the short fight with Haku? I don't particularly enjoy writing long fight scenes, so I hope this is written well enough to make up for the length of it. Slowly but surely, I'm revealing how much Mai has** _ **actually**_ **improved. Did you like the short flashback?**

 **Thank you for reading! Please review if you have the chance to. Can we hit 200 reviews this time? :D**

 **Have a great day! ~**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

Shisui leaned against a tree trunk, arms crossed to display his disapproval as he eyed the mess he had walked in on.

"You made me leave to go and find their hideout while you stayed here to assault and rob the poor kid?" Shisui asked, skimming over a few details to paint the scene in an even more ridiculous light. "I know our mission lets us act as a group independent of Konoha, but even vagabonds like us should have standards, Mai."

"It won't happen again," I chirped insincerely as I shifted through Haku's belongings. "Can you see if the fight's over yet?"

As if the people dearest to us _weren't_ in the midst of a fight for their lives, Shisui cracked a joke before adhering to my request. "First you went and stole a child's belongings, and now you're overworking the last remaining eye that a crippled man has? You're too cruel."

"How are you so nonchalant right now?" I stopped conducting my body search to shoot Shisui a bland look, ignoring his mild complaint about his new role as both the scout and the tracker. Musing over times long passed, I commented on Shisui's change in habits. "You usually would've gone all mother hen on Naruto, Sasuke, and I by now."

"And then I died and saw the light," Shisui spoke wryly. "The fight's nearing its end. Everyone's chakra signature is still there, but a few seem a bit weak."

Having not found anything all that interesting in Haku's belongings, I pushed myself back up onto my feet.

"I'm going to head there while disguised as Zabuza's subordinate. Any chance you can help me with faking his death?" I asked, knowing full well that Shisui couldn't do anything other than go along with my whims anyways—being classified as dead and being treated as such could really do a thing or two to limit a person's multitude of options.

He looked as if I had gone and asked him to go and die against himself. "I know it's a feat I've already accomplished it once, but I'm no expert in faking deaths."

His words were without a doubt humourous, but his tone lacked a certain _umph_ to it—it lacked _life_. It was more than just a bit obvious that he was putting up such a facade for my sake—after _that night_ had happened, Shisui was the one who seemed reluctant to change with the times. I'd gone off my rocker, and Naruto and Sasuke had been forced to grow up all too quickly, but Shisui remained as he was. Did he not want move on, or was something—that same something that seemed to want to berid Shisui of his very own _life_ —stopping him from moving on?

( _He shouLdn'T be aLiVE shouLDN'T b_ _ **E**_ _al_ _ **ive**_ **.**

 **JusT liKe** _ **yoU yOU mE? yoU or mE?**_ )

I rolled my eyes, playing along with his act for my own selfish desire to return to a simpler time. "I swear I'll be the one to take care of the complications with ethics and such once we're all back in Konoha, so could you just convince Team 7 that Zabuza's dead for now?"

Shisui sighed, evidently tired of thinly veiling his exasperation with an awful sense of humor. "You know, I was calm because I trusted you, and I _still_ trust you, so yes, I do believe I can manage to pull this off."

A smile danced on my lips—a rare, genuine one. "Thank you, Shisui."

"But," he continued, throwing my thank you right back into my face, "I can't see _why_ I should go along with this plan. You know something I don't know, don't you?"

He'd never know it, but the decision I made at that time, and the response I gave him, would define the rest of our lives—the rest of this world. Despite how casually I was carrying myself, the time interval for us to nab Zabuza was a slim one. Too late, and he'd end up dead; too early, and Team 7 wouldn't be distracted enough to not identify us. What we were committing was treason, through and through, and neither Shisui or I had the desire to have the entirety of Konoha as our enemy.

If I didn't come clean to Shisui now, I risked him refusing to help me.

Shisui wasn't like me—he wasn't someone who fretted over the fate of the world. For all he knew, the world he lived in would never be threatened by anything as horrifying as Obito's Infinite Tsukuyomi. Such worries were inexistent to him. All he knew to do was fight for Konoha's well being, and everything he had done up to this point reflected that.

He even helped slaughter his own clan.

* * *

" _Why don't you just go in?" I asked, leaning against the spiked iron fence that bordered Konoha's cemetery._

 _A man dressed in casual civilian garb froze at the entrance, stuck crouching at the foot of the stone steps that lead into Konoha's most sacred place. It was the final resting place of all the people who laid down their lives to preserve what they loved this shitty world—a place where no one dared to loiter around without good reason._

 _The man was stout, adorning an old cap that was pulled down to obscure his eyes. The wrinkles on his hands indicated that he was of old age, yet the swiftness in his movements told another story._

 _It was Shisui's henge._

 _He stood up, revealing the small bouquet of white lilies that he had intended to leave at the entrance of the graveyard. He pulled up the hat, smiling wryly at me. "Stalking me around Konoha now? That's not a very ladylike habit, Mai."_

 _I barked a harsh laugh, one so sad that it perfectly reflected all the bitterness and animosity that had eventually brought us here. "You know perfectly well that if you hadn't wanted me to follow you, you would've been able to lose me by now."_

" _Maybe I just wanted to catch up with my favorite pupil," he suggested, sauntering over to my side._

 _He raised his hand to fondly flick my forehead._

" _I'm your_ _ **only**_ _pupil," I snorted, catching him by the wrist before he could initiate any kind of physical contact with me. "And even if you_ _ **did**_ _have more, surely I can't be your favorite if you can't even remember the one thing I detest._

 _His eyes widened at the swift movement, and apologetically, he took a few steps back. "Sorry, Mai. It's just been so long that it slipped my mind."_

 _For a split second, a look of pity appeared on his face, but as fast as it had come, it had disappeared. I waved away the apology, perhaps somewhat desperate to return our relationship to what it had once been._

 _Three long years had gone by since the massacre, and slowly but surely, Naruto and Sasuke had overcome their childhood trauma. Obviously, they were far from fully healed, but at the very least, they were taking a step towards it._

 _Now only Shisui and I seemed to be anchored to a time we couldn't change._

" _So what_ _ **did**_ _you have me follow you here for?" I asked, wanting to shift the subject off of my disdain for any human contact._

 _He countered my question with one of his own. "How much do you remember of that night?"_

 _There was only one night he could be referring to—the one night that would be burned into my eyelids for the rest of my life. (The blood, the horrors, that dying man's horrible screams as I kiLleD kiLLED_ _ **killeD**_ _him_.)

" _All of it_."

" _Kakashi-sensei was the one who found you, you know. I can't imagine what you would've seen if he hadn't_."

" _And what would that have been?"_

 _When he spoke again, his eyes showed that he was no longer with me. His body might've been here, but his mind was stuck wandering somewhere else—perhaps reliving the night that he had forsaken it all for the sake of the village._

" _Maybe Akari-san's body—that was Itachi's doing. Or worse, the remains of those two twins—you know, Harue and Hanae. They were so young. I can't remember who did those two in but…" He paused, fists clenched as his shaky voice croaked out the next part. "...it was probably me."_

" _Shisui…" I didn't know what to say._

 _What_ _ **could**_ _I say? Was there any word I could fumble to find that could accurately express my sorrow for a man who had slaughtered those who he had loved. I had always known that there was far too much guilt in his eyes for him to have simply been a witness to the bloodshed, but never did I think he would actually come clean about it. There were some things in this world that could absolutely remain buried, and for the sake of the secret's carrier,_ _ **should**_ _remain buried._

 _He smiled—that same reassuring look that had comforted me throughout the last three agonizing years. "Don't worry, I didn't get you here to give me an impromptu therapy session or anything—though I think we_ _ **could**_ _probably both use one. I just came here to ask for a small favor."_

" _And that is?" I asked a little too quickly, showing far too much relief over him choosing not to lean on me for support. I had enough baggage already to topple myself over; I didn't know if I could handle his too._

" _Can you put these on Mikoto-san's grave for me?"_

 _He held out the flowers as gave his request, refusing to look me in the eyes as he did._

" _Okay," I answered, voice hoarse as I took the flowers out of his hands._

" _Sorry, Mai, but I'm going to be leaving for a while_."

" _A while?" I repeated, not liking how vague the timeframe that was implied was._

" _A while," he reiterated firmly, nodding. "Take good care of Sasuke and Naruto for me, would you?"_

 _He left before my answer could be uttered, probably already aware that I would never refuse such an obvious duty of mine. There was something more in that last request though—a double meaning to an innocuous wish._

 _It was silent promise between the two of us—that he'd one day return, and that I wouldn't go off and die somewhere before he could._

* * *

Shisui had placed Konoha before all worldly things that he owned—his love for his family, his dedication to his comrades, the commonplace things that made up his very _life_. It had all been sacrificed for the good of a village that hadn't even been _bothered_ to attempt to recover his body.

Not even my begging could convince him to sacrifice his loyalty to Konoha. If I wanted him to essentially commit treason with me, he'd have to know the _why_ behind such a malicious sounding request.

But then there was the issue of what would happen if I _did_ come clean.

If I _did_ come clean, there was no telling what foreknowledge of a time that he shouldn't even _exist_ in could trigger. For all I knew, it could bring about a consequence even stranger, even more horrifying than Sakura's suddenly twisted self.

But I had to try.

"I had a vision about it."

Shisui quirked an eyebrow, looking dubious. "You had a _vision_ , so you're asking me to reel in an S-rank missing-nin?"

"Those _visions_ that you're taking so lightly are what let me save _you_. Do you really want to start doubting their accuracy now?" I shot back.

"What was the vision?"

"What?" I had been praying that he'd have let the issue die without delving deeper into the specifics.

"What did you see that makes you so compelled to save Zabuza Momochi? He's the man who tried instigating a coup against his own village. Few people would even think twice about letting a guy like that rot in hell."

He wasn't wrong. Zabuza _did_ do exactly what the rumors swirling around him were saying he did, but there was more to it. There was so, _so_ much more to it—so much so, in fact, that it was enough to give me an out _without_ me revealing Zabuza's importance in terms of Naruto's development as a person.

"That's not all there is to it." I feigned a look of internal strife over whether or not to reveal the next tidbit to Shisui.

"Kirigakure's old Kage was being used as a puppet."

For a second, all that appeared on Shisui's face was an expression of surprise, but quickly that same look grew dark. "Mai, do you understand the implications behind what you just said?"

"No?"

He grabbed my shoulders, disregarded my discomfort. "If Kiri's kage was under someone else's control, then we need to report this to the Hokage _immediately_."

"What? Why?" I was already regretting the choice I had gone with. Having the _Hokage_ know about my supposed ability to know of detrimental events in the past and future was a _definite_ no-go. I had no intentions of being used by Konoha as their newest human-weapon.

Shisui looked as if elaborating further was bringing him physical pain.

"Because Konoha has an execution date set for one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

* * *

 **Dun dun dunnnn! An earlyish update brought to you by my tears for 200 flippin' reviews!. :') Who do you guys think Konoha has in their custody? Did you enjoy the flashback with Shisui? It was implied that Shisui aided Itachi during the massacre, but now it's confirmed! Honestly guys, I teared up thinking about Shisui participating in that. :( I've also updated the fic summary. How do you guys feel about this new one?  
**

 **Thank you so so much for all your support as of late! It'd mean the world to me if you could continue to do so. Even if you feel your reviews are repetitive, a single word of affirmation from you guys makes my day _so_ fantastic. I write this fic because of _you_ , and there's no telling how many times I've wanted to just give up on it, but don't because of your faith in me updating. **

**I love you guys, truly! Even when life is rough, knowing you support me brings me all the joy and hope that I need.**

 **Thank you for everything so far! Have a great day.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

"Shisui, what do you _mean_ Konoha has one of Kiri's swordsmen in their custody?" I shouted.

"It's exactly as it sounds like, Mai!" Shisui yelled back. "Hurry up, if we want to intervene, now's the time.

The reveal had set both of us into motion, and now we were speeding through the forest at a rapid rate—so quickly that the trees all seemed to blur into one giant, green blob and so speedily that no sound other than a screech at the top of one's lungs could be heard over the roaring wind.

Haku was draped over Shisui's back with the poor kid almost being sent flying off each time his ride changed altitude or angle.

We were panicked, but we had every damned right to be. Shisui failed to indulge me in anymore of the information that I _itched_ to know—we just didn't have _time_ for him to debrief me on the new shitshow that I had probably indirectly triggered—and had chosen to unquestioningly aid me in my endeavor instead.

Was it suspicious that he was stalling? Yes.

Did I care about his shady dealings if I was going to end up with Zabuza in my custody if I _did_ succeed with his help? Absolutely not.

"We're only a half a mile off now, I'll talk once we've pulled this guy out of Death's grasp." He turned around to give me a reassuring smile, one somehow laced with the slightest hint of humor as he cracked one last joke before we jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. "You're rather good at it—saving people from their untimely demises."

"You would know from from first hand experience, wouldn't you?" I muttered under my breath as we broke through the last bit of the thicker part of the woods.

If we squinted, we could just barely make out the almost- _dancing_ figures of Team 7 while they struggled against Zabuza. Had it not been an actual skirmish between people who were fighting tooth and nail to _live_ , I would've gladly stood there, completely memorized at the fluidity in their movements—so graceful it almost seems unreal.

Maybe it _was_ unreal.

(R _eaL? Are yOU r_ _ **eal? o**_ **r** _arE you stiLl dEA_ _ **der than dead? JusT diE alrEaDY.**_ )

" _Mai_ ," Shisui hissed into my ear, jolting me out of the near-hypnotized state I had been in. Both Zabuza and Kakashi seemed to react at the minute sound—a reminder of just how dangerous this task really was.

Shisui might have been an experienced sharingan user, yes, and I might have had my own fair share of experience with stealth operations, but that didn't mean jack-shit when we were diving head first into a battlefield with two other wielders of the sharingan, and a man famed for attempting to overthrow his entire damned _country_ —albeit for good reason. The brazenness of our movements was only multiplied by ten fold when the fact that the man we were trying to save _wasn't_ our _own_ comrades, but the one trying to slaughter those very same comrades instead.

If Shisui and I were to be caught, we'd be done for—a fact that we were unfortunately all too aware of.

Hell, I didn't even know if _he_ could be trusted anymore.

Shisui had practically disappeared for two years after our last meeting at Konoha's cemetery—a long time by any standards, and even more so when our mission was taken into account, yet never once had the Hokage inquired about why the flow of information between Shisui and I had suddenly stopped. What had happened was more than just obvious. Their lack of communication time was practically brazen enough to be an _insult._

Shisui had continued to feed all of the information that he had acquired to the Hokage, he just simply stopped giving it to _me_. Whether that was a conscious decision made on his part, or an order from Sarutobi, I couldn't be completely sure.

I _wanted_ to be able to have faith in him, but a small part of me kept refusing to spill everything. Sure, Shisui could've have ended our communication in order to give me an excuse to spend more time with Naruto, but he also just as possibly could've been given an order from the higher ups to prevent me from knowing _too_ much. Either move was entirely possible, and both equally likely.

There was no doubt about it—telling him about my plans of _basically_ committing treason and having him participate was an absolute risk.

But in the situation that I was in, it was a risk I had to take.

I nodded at Shishui, indicating that I had recollected myself enough to smoothly execute our damn-near preposterous plan. He gave a brisk nod back, setting the said-preposterous plan into motion despite every logical bit of us screaming for us to stop.

Making sure the hunter-nin mask was on tight, I entered the fray.

Zabuza was hunched over, clearly on the losing end of the battle. He panted as he mustered up the strength to spare one last glare at his opponents, determined to not go down without sticking it to the enemy. His stance relaxed, probably sensing my presence and mistaking it for Haku's.

Before Kakashi could land the finishing blow a week early, I launched Haku's senbon towards Zabuza, knowing that he wouldn't dodge if he was certain I was Haku. The needles stuck, and his eyes widened as he comprehended the fact that he was, in fact, _not_ placed under an inanimate state.

"Wha—"

His alarmed cry was interrupted by a blow to the chest, courtesy of me. In any other occasion, the kick would have done little to the infamous missing nin, but now, in the midst of a battle that had practically kicked his ass to the moon and back, even _breathing_ wrong could have probably knocked him down for a few seconds.

For a few seconds.

He used an iron grip to grab hold of my ankle, and I clenched every bit of my body to stop myself from crying out. Interrupting the fight was my role, distorting the fight to allow us to drag Zabuza out of there without being detected was Shisui's. If anything looked even _slightly_ out of place, all our efforts would go to waste.

This had to play out almost _exactly_ as it had the first time around.

I shifted to the right, nearly dislocating my own ankle in an attempt to give Shisui a clearer visual of where Zabuza was.

This was where Haku would have to step in.

With every superstitious bone in my body, I _prayed_ to any god that came to mind as I waited for our plan to either fail or work. Shisui was already set up, but he'd have to try pretty _damn_ hard to use any chakra without being detected by the last two regular sharingan users in Konoha. It couldn't even be called ballsy anymore—what we were doing was damn near _arrogant_ to even _think_ about attempting. Pulling a fast one on an Uchiha was a death wish—one that would've been a nearly impossible feat to accomplish if it weren't for Shisui's expertise.

We were going to manipulate Haku into landing the _real_ finishing-ish blow with the same technique he had used the first around.

With blood pooling both in my mouth and now from my injured ankle—yet another damaged body part to add to a long list of shitty things I'd had to endure in this world—I nearly exploded in anticipation. I bit the inside of my cheek harder, drawing out more of the irony liquid to distract myself from the excruciating pain that shot up my entire leg.

The sky—I focused on the sky. The mesmerizing blues that looked just like the ones I had seen in another life.

(Go _back go baCk I waNt to gO. LeaVE bacK to blUE SKiEs._

 _I want to go_ _ **home**_ _.)_

In my peripheral vision, I could just barely make out what was presumably Haku's shadow. For a second, I felt a pang of guilt for manipulating the poor kid into attacking the man he cherished above all, but that motion died with the comfort of knowing that this was—if my own selfish whims were ignored—for the best.

And just like that—only after a few _seconds_ into my entrance—it was over.

Mission accomplished—Zabuza was out, but from the looks of it, I was about to be out, too. I clenched my fist, digging my nails into my palm to divert my attention to that rather than the dull ache that had dug its way up into my thigh.

Taking a deep breath to steady my voice, I mimicked what little I could recall of the way Haku had carried himself when he had pulled the same stunt on Team 7.

I bowed, swallowing a mouthful of my own blood before I spoke. "Thank you for aiding me. I've been tracking Zabuza to search for a chance at killing him for a very long time."

Naruto rushed over to where Zabuza's 'body' was laying, looking both distraught and relieved all at once. Behind him, Sasuke limped after the somehow still-energetic blond, perhaps looking a _little_ worse for wear during this time around. There was no discernible difference though, and for that, I was relieved.

Sakura, yet again, was another story. All the damage that Naruto probably should've been showing—though wasn't due to his jinchuuriki healing abilities—had seemingly been transferred on over to her. The poor girl—and I don't call her this _lightly,_ considering her psychotic tendencies—looked like she had been literally dragged through hell and back, with scrapes and cuts lining every bit of her body. Whether the damage was a result of this world's changes, or simply due to her newfound arrogance, all I knew was the fact that she looked, at any angle, wholly _fucked up_. She looked at me for a split second, and then seemed to have passed me off as insignificant as she separated from the group, going to the side to bandage herself up.

I had no way of knowing what exactly happened while I was fighting my own battle, but it didn't seem to have been pretty.

"A hunter-nin from Kiri?" Kakashi asked, eyes narrowed.

I kept my voice steady. "Correct."

"What's a hunter-nin?" Naruto asked, looking at his sensei expectantly.

Before Kakashi could reply, I answered for him. "My duty is to hunt down missing-nin. I am a part of Kiri's hunter-nin team."

Every word I said dragged on the conversation, but an inexplicable force seemed to drive me to keep the conversation as close to what it had originally been as possible. If memory served me right, what would come next was—

"Who _are_ you?" Naruto's voice lacked a rash aggressiveness to it, but it was confrontational nonetheless.

Kakashi sighed, not bothering to further inspect me. He was probably completely exhausted from the fight—far too exhausted to bother with a man who _definitely_ appeared dead. "Naruto, stand down. He's not our enemy."

"He's as young as me! Why is he so strong? Someone like Zabuza who gave us so much trouble was taken out just like that?!" Naruto exclaimed, no longer shouting at me but rather just shouting out his frustrations in general.

I focused on trying to recall what would happen next, desperate to find something to fixate my mind on before I passed out right then and there. It'd be more than just a bit of a speed bump in my road of life if Team 7 managed to unmask me if I fell unconscious. Kakashi would do that little fatherly-like movement, placing his hand on Naruto's head, and then he'd probably say something about the differing power levels among all shinobi regardless of age. Something like that, right?

Wrong.

"What are you talking about, dobe? We've lived around prodigies for all of our lives—even little Mai is a special jounin now. Stop wasting time gawking over others, idiot, or else you're gonna end up losing to that reckless idiot even more."

In spite of how many implications came out of Sasuke's now-somewhat friendly personality—though he had a shit way of showing it—I barely stifled a laugh at how he handled the usually uncontrollable blond's vigor in all emotions that he felt.

Naruto scrunched his eyebrows together in annoyance. "Shut up, bastard! I wasn't gawking, I was just thinkin' about how Mai would totally get her ass kicked by this guy."

Oh the irony of it all.

I could have watched Team 7's rocky-but-somehow fitting dynamic for hours, but the fuzzy feeling I felt inside my head was telling me it'd be best if I hightailed out of there.

Shisui had left the moment the genjutsu had successfully gotten Haku to take out Zabuza. Getting Zabuza out of here was all on me.

I crouched down, gritting my teeth as I slung him over my already-aching shoulder. "I must dispose of his body. Many confidential things seem to be hidden in it."

I spared Naruto and Sasuke one last glance, giving him another once over to assure myself that they were alright.

"Farewell."

I shunshined as far as I could with what little chakra I had remaining—so much of it had been wasted using Shisui's technique in the fight with Haku. As my feet landed on the ground, I felt my knees buckle. Zabuza slipped off my shoulder, and shortly after, I fell with him.

As my consciousness faded, one poignant thought stood out to me.

 _Well, at least I'm not dead yet._

* * *

 **25 chapters and 70k words! Das a milestone.**

 **This is it for the actiony chapters, and the next one will have plenty of Shisui and Mai interaction without the threat of someone dying looming over them at that very second lol.**

 **I'll keep this short. Please leave a review! I'm happy when you do, and a little disheartened when you don't. :(**

 **Have a great day. :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

The comforting sounds of a crackling fire slowly registered in my mind as I came to. Blinking away the sleep-induced blurriness that plagued by vision, I was met with a scene that might have taken my breath away in another life.

A countless number of starts dotted the sky in every place that I looked, and if I squinted, it looked almost _homely—_ the near-mirror image of a sight that I'd not seen in what felt like a million years.

( _Camping—the bane of our family's life. All of us, dragged to the barest corners of the Earth over our father's silly whims. The only thing that made the scalding hot temperatures worth it was the glittering night sky, shining down on us as we huddled around a small fire._ )

"Awake already?" Shisui's voice broke through the gentle silence of the night.

I used my hands to push myself into a sitting position, cracking my back as I did so. Wincing, I forced my aching body to turn towards the man who, more often than not, felt like a stranger nowadays. He looked back at me expectantly, seemingly waiting for something that wasn't just a simple greeting.

"You should've woken me sooner. If Haku and Zabuza had regained consciousness, then you wouldn't have been able to take them al—"

He had an answer prepared before I could even finish the sentence.

"But they _didn't_ regain consciousness. There's no use worrying about things that _could've_ happened but _didn_ ' _t,_ " he interrupted me, effectively ending my lecture right then and there.

It felt like we were always like this now—chastising one another over the other's reckless choices, yet never trying to fix the _root_ of the issue, but that's just how we were. Shisui and I weren't good with communication anymore—not with the countless secrets we both have had to carry with us since the night of the massacre. There was no room for white lies and willful ignorance anymore. We both were privy to too many things about the other, and that unwanted intimacy had wedged itself between us in a way that only birthed more lies and deceit, all under a guise of 'protecting' the other.

And that same distance between us—between two people who might very well be considered the enemy of the entire universe in and of itself—was going to get us killed one day. From one misunderstanding to another, we'd both been beaten down by life time and time again—there was obviously _something_ wrong with the way we were going about this.

We had to fix this now—we had to fix this _before_ we jumped into another mess.

"Are you ever gonna be honest with me?" I asked, sounding more confrontational than I had initially meant for my words to be.

And like that, the world seemed to come to standstill. The crickets stopped chirping, the owls stopped hooting—even the fire's soft crackling ceased to be heard in my ears. Everything had just stopped, as if the world itself was waiting with bated breath to hear Shisui's response.

"That's rather hypocritical of you to ask, don't you think?" he shot back, eyebrow raised, yet his words didn't feel like a dismissal of my question, but rather a proposal of his own.

' _Tell me something, and I'll tell you something in return_."

"I've told you the truth. I see things—visions," I reiterated the lie. If there was anything I was determined to hold my ground on, it was this cover story. There was no telling what kind of damage could be done if Shisui knew the truth—the _full_ truth.

He gave a wry smile. "You're lying again."

Taken aback, I let a question slip past my lips before I even knew what I was saying. "How do you _know_?"

For a moment, he appeared quiet, and I feared that my lie had brought the conversation to an abrupt end, but a lingering glance at Shisui told me otherwise. He wasn't just not replying, he was _thinking_ —trying to grasp a proper way of articulating whatever it was that he wanted to say.

"Do you have a little voice in your head?"

"What?" I didn't know what exactly he was referring to, but I was pretty certain he didn't mean that _thing_ that had clung to my mind more closely than my own damn sanity had. "You mean like, a conscience?"

"Sort of. More like a gut feeling, but in your head."

"Oh." I was grateful that the fire's orange tint obscured my sheepish blush. "Then yeah, sometimes."

"I think there's something wrong with the gut feelings that I get."

I furrowed my brows together. This wasn't sounding good, but at the same time, the mere fact that we were discussing this at all was something I should've been wholly thankful for. Wanting to at least _try_ to push our boundaries back to what they had once been, I turned my body towards Shisui, scooting closer to him as I did so. "How so?"

He seemed to be at a loss for words. "It's like, sometimes I get overwhelmed with the need to do something—like my life will end if I do otherwise. I don't know how to describe it, just sometimes it feels like my thoughts and feelings contradict with each other. It's like—It's like there's some things that the universe itself doesn't want me to do."

"Like what?"

"Like be around you."

I stilled, yet somehow my face remained impassive. Without really acknowledging it, I was expecting that answer. From the start, I'd been an enemy of the world—an enemy of Fate. From when I'd almost been drowned by water that seemed to have drawn me in, to my own body not listening to what I willed it to do—it was more than obvious that this universe had been no friend of mine.

I just never expected those around me to get roped in as my enemy too, yet it made sense. Were these people even real? Or were they just a product of this world—mere _characters_ who'd been set in stone long before I had existed in their plane. Was I just a stain on this timeline? A virus, of sorts?

( _Aren't these people just fuCkiNG ch_ _ **araCtErS anyWayS?**_ _Who gives a_ _ **damn**_ _if they li_ _ **vE**_?)

I forced myself to return to the conversation—to return to Shisui.

"Nothing has happened in the way that it should've happened," I croaked, resolving to give him at least a _little_ bit of truth. He deserved to know why every bit of his world seemed to have caved in on him.

It was his turn to look at me quizzically. "Now isn't the time to be vague, Mai. We're having a campfire with a couple of missing nin as our guests."

I cracked a weak smile at his joke. It was quite obviously an attempt at lightening the mood, though I couldn't say whether or not his efforts proved to be successful. "I'm not _trying_ to be vague, I just don't know how to say it."

He leaned back, letting me know that I had all the time in the world to get out what need to be let out.

Hesitantly, I started.

"Let's just go with a vague scenario, okay? I know things that I'm not supposed to know, simple as that, but then I started to try to change those things. A lot of those things." I swallowed, throwing him a quick look to gauge his reaction, but he seemed rather unsurprised. Grateful for his lack of horror at the reveal, I went on. "It was just little things at first—being Naruto's friend and all—but then one thing lead to another and, well—"

"Then you met me."

"Yeah." My voice cracked. "Then I met you and Hokage-sama, and at that point the snowball was already too big and too fast for me to stop. You were supposed to have—you were supposed to—" I couldn't say it, but he could.

"I was supposed to have died?"

I nodded. "But after I spent so much time around you and Naruto, and after Naruto got so attached to you, I just couldn't _let it happen_ without doing _anything_. So I did something, and then—and then I saw that _place_ again, and then I killed a man, and now I've killed more people than I can count and I've screwed over more people than I can count too. Sakura—that psychotic kid should've still been innocent and sweet and kind but I _ruined_ her life, and now I don't know whether to act based on what _should_ have happened or whether to sct based on what _is_ happening. Every damn thing in this place is out for my head, and oh _god,_ I just want to go _home_."

I hadn't intended to say the last part, but before I had been able to halt the all-too revealing words, everything I felt and everything I had ever desired had spilled out.

"Am I allowed to touch you?" The question was bizarre, and out of context it would've been downright creepy, but shinobi were never meant to have been good with their words. I knew what he meant.

' _Can we go back to the way things were_?'

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I nodded, and as I did so, he breathed a sigh of relief. While I sat in silence, he pushed himself off the ground, hesitantly approaching me in the same way that one would approach a scared animal.

Internalizing a grimace, I braced myself for the abhorrent touch that I had detested so greatly ever since _that night_ , but surprisingly, nothing overly affectionate like a hug ever came. Instead, all he did was what he had always done before our lives had gotten caught up in a storm.

"You might not being a little academy brat anymore, but you're still such a kid. There really wasn't any reason for you to bear this all yourself, idiot." He ruffled my hair, and then he went back to his place by the fire.

I didn't get it. Why was he still being so hesitant—so _wary?_ "Why didn't you—"

"That was enough." He gave me a reassuring smile—that same smile that he had always given me all those years ago. "You don't always have to be so willing to bend to other people's wishes."

I hated that.

He was treating me like a child again, and by all definitions, I _was_ a child—physically, at least—but still I despised that lecturing tone. I despised this body that warranted that lecturing tone. This hair that was too dark and too _blue_ tinted, these eyes that no longer reflected the same green that had once shined so comfortingly in the eyes of those I had held so dear to me( _my broTheR and moTHeR just like_ _ **mE,**_ _emerald green emer_ _ **aLd green**_ ). I hated it—I hated it _all_.

But this world was unforgiving enough without my self hatred blinding me. If I wanted to live—though sometimes I seriously questioned how much I truly desired it—I had to forget about it for now. This wasn't the world I had watched while growing up anymore. Whether I liked it or not, things had _changed_ because of me, and if I wanted to survive I'd have to change with it.

This wasn't the Naruto world anymore—this was something else entirely, and I had to survive on its terms—survive and protect the new people that I held dear.

"So this plan—going against Naruto's team and all to save these missing-nin—is something that you think would be for the greater good?"

I nodded—this, among all of the shit I had unknowingly dragged myself into—was something I _knew_ I had to do, _especially_ now that I was ready to throw away the ideals I had had of the old timeline.

Shisui heaved a heavy sigh. "You really _are_ gonna get me killed one day, you know."

My ears perked at this. He was complaining, but at the same time, like always, he was saying something else behind his words.

' _If you're gonna fight this Universe, I'll fight it with you too._ '

But to confirm it, I just _had_ to say it outloud. "You're gonna—?"

He gave me a lopsided, boyish grin, and in the shadows casted by the fire, I swore I saw the ghost of the Shisui from more than half a decade ago—the Shisui that hadn't been tarnished and tainted by the ugly tragedies of this world.

"How am I gonna let my favorite pupil get the screwed by the world on her own?"

"Sorry, but she's already screwed."

I tensed up, but before I could pull out anything to defend myself with, a kunai was pressed against my throat.

Zabuza was awake.

* * *

 **Sooooo I've taken your guys' criticisms to heart, and have tried my damnedest and getting you guys reacquainted with these two inarticulate, but lovely idiots! Finally, Mai and Shisui are on the same page again, sort of! I hope you guys don't mind that this was mostly a set up chapter.**

 **Important question though, guys! How do you think I'm doing with the first bit at my attempt at fleshing out these post-timeskip characters? Do you still like Mai and Shisui's interactions? How do y'all feel about this chapter in general? Please let me know with a review!**

 **Have a great day!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Sorry for the wait. Important details and explanation in the A/N.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

"Let the kid go." Shisui looked so bored, he might as well have yawned while confronting the somewhat recovered missing-nin.

For someone a single slice away from losing his partner in crime— _literally_ —he sure as hell seemed calm and collected. I, on the other hand, appeared impassive to an untrained eye, but any shinobi with more than a couple of years under their obi could probably discern how screwed I felt—which, if it wasn't obvious enough, was _very_ screwed. As far as I had come as a nin, I was eons away from being the _brawn_ of this duo—hell, I was only just barely the brains through a multi-universe loophole.

Zabuza raised a brow at Shisui's brazen demand—one whose confidence I was able to find a bit of comfort in. "Maybe if I kill the brat, you'll learn how to properly disarm a Kiri nin."

"Then maybe if I kill your brat, you'll learn how to properly threaten a Konoha nin," Shisui retorted.

Neither I nor Zabuza had to do much thinking to figure out which underling Shisui was referring to. A quick side glance gave me a bit of reassurance to how likely it was that I'd survive this ordeal—Shisui hadn't slacked off on watching our captives after all. Hovering above where Haku's body still laid unconscious, Shisui's shadow clone dangled a kunai dangerously close to the boy's neck.

"You think I care what happens to the kid? The boy's a tool to me. Nothing more, nothing less." Zabuza growled. He would have sounded rather genuine about his lack of concern for Haku had I not already been well aware of the tears he would've shed for the kid in another life.

"Even if you _didn't_ care for the kid, you'd be given a run for your money if you tried taking _both_ of us down in the state that you're in right now. Being forced into a state of inanimation is hard on the body," Shisui reasoned.

"You'll end up killing us anyways. Might as well take one of you bastards down with me."

I laughed, feigning tranquility in a moment that called for anything but. "Before you go chopping my head off, take a closer look at the guy a few milliseconds away from offing your partner, would you?"

Zabuza let out a snarl-like noise, probably dubious about my request, but his confidence in my inability to escape his clutches got the better of him. He did as asked, first sparing a short glance in Shisui's direction, then doing a doubletake as he matched the name with the face.

"Shunshin no Shisui?" He pressed the kunai harder against my neck, drawing out small droplets of blood. "What the hell are you playing at, kid? We've always said that Konoha was full of rotten people, but now they're off resurrecting the dead?"

"I'd be more than happy to give you an answer if you would just let the girl go," Shisui offered, knowing damn well that he was in no position to be bargaining.

Sure, Shisui might have been able to hold the upper hand in a fight against the already-injured Zabuza, but I'd still be deader-than-dead if fighting the Kiri nin was what he had to resort to. Defusing this situation was tricky enough as it was, and adding the fact that Zabuza was doubtful of his survival regardless of whether or not he let me live made it even moreso. As much as I hated to admit it, now would be as good of a time as ever to have a certain blond brat talk-no-jutsu our way to a permanent position in the world of the living.

Unfortunately, all we had to work with was his bootleg, adopted sister— _me_.

Without having any actual intention of doing so, I instinctively gulped nervously, pressing my own throat harder against the blade. While I would've preferred to _not_ have myself get injured any further, it was, if anything, a hell of a wake up call.

"I can't say much about how likely it is that you'd live if you offed me now, but I _can_ offer you at least a few more decades in the world of the living if you'd put the kunai down."

Zabuza laughed—a cold, harsh sound that seemed more akin to a bark than anything. "A few more decades in the world of the living? Now I know you're bullshitting me."

I flinched—this was looking bad.

Shisui shot me a look—one so subtle that anyone lacking a close relationship with him would've assumed that not a thing had gone wrong. To me, though, the quick flash of panic in his eyes clearly painted how screwed the both of us were if we couldn't verbally disarm Zabuza _soon_. It was a look of doubt—a momentary lapse in his carefully crafted cover that he had spent so many years perfecting.

These next few words would either kill me or save me.

"Are you really gonna lay your life down for a guy like Gato?" I asked, focusing all my effort into keeping my voice steady. "Someone like _you_?"

He faltered, choosing not to slit my throat the moment those semi-mysterious words tumbled out of my mouth. It was obvious bait, and he and I both knew it, but he'd choose to entertain me anyways.

"Someone like me? Kid, a missing-nin's job is to do whatever the hell their highest bidder asks them to do." His voice was bitter—a sound most often heard in the last words of a dying shinobi—and it told me all I needed to know to ensure my survival.

Screw the lessons beaten into me through my years of training. This was something that required knowledge of something far too humble for ever so prideful shinobi to do.

I had to pander.

"You're not a missing-nin though," I stated matter-of-factly, knowing that such an untrue statement would further grab his attention. He couldn't kill me if he wanted me to keep talking.

Shisui's eyebrow twitched at my statement, not knowing where I was going with my words, but he seemed nonetheless more calmed now than he had been a few moments before. Even he was able to see Zabuza's guard relaxing. Perhaps not enough to willingly let me go, but definitely nearing a point where it'd be easier to take him out without any dying on my part.

"I'm not a missing nin?" His voice was dry. "I'm sure that handy bingo book you Konoha nin always carry around says otherwise."

"'A missing-nin is a nin that has abandoned his or her village,'" I quoted, pausing to let the textbook definition of the term sink in. Hopefully, hearing something so akin to what he had probably once heard in his own youthful years would ring a few bells—maybe even have him feel nostalgic about the village he had betrayed to save.

"You didn't betray your village, Zabuza-san." His eyes grew cold again as he probably predicted the next few words I'd say. Knowing full well that the reaction I wanted wasn't what I was going to get, I opened my mouth anyways.

"Your village betrayed you."

I shut my eyes, bracing for the blow I knew was to come from words that held so much buried weight in them. Everything he had done, all that he had tried to hide—it was all being dragged up back to the surface by none other than me, the enemy who should have _never_ gotten ahold of

such sensitive information.h

He didn't fail to meet my expectations. In fact, he _exceeded_ them. Even in the beaten-down state that he was in, I ended up shoved against a tree no less than ten _meters_ away from where we had been standing only milliseconds before.

(Well _fuck_ , here's where it _ends_ _**endS EndS**_.)

Perhaps having such a sharp tongue would be the end of me once again.

(Mocking laughs, a guy whose pride I had stepped on—don't touch that firework, they're for _laTer_ _**later lAtER**_!

 _Hey! What are you doing!_

 _StoP! sTO_ _ **P! W**_ _e're inSi_ _ **de**_ —)

The treebark dug into my back, drawing out blood from wounds I hadn't even realized I'd had.

(My back hits the wall, is that something i _n my ab_ _ **domEn?**_ )

"Mai!" Shisui's voice pierced through the night—an impulsive cry on his part.

(Muffled voices, muffled screams. I can't hear over the thundering of my own heartbeat—my name my _na_ _ **mE? Are they**_ _call_ _ **inG out to mE?**_

"... _ia!"_

" _...ria!"_

 _ **Are they saying my nAme? NaME? I can't heaR yoU!**_

" _ **Aria!"**_ )

A loud _crack_ resounded throughout the forest as my ribs gave in to the pressure of Zabuza's attack. All sense of pain had left me; the blood running down my back seemed to be no more than a trickle of water, and the digging the treebark was doing felt like the light tickle of a feather.

( _They're screaming—everyone is screaming—but why aren't_ _ **I**_ _? I can't feel a damn thing—is that my finger twitc_ _ **hing over there**_ _? How funny, is the room going black? Our apartment always did have electricity issues._

 _How funny._

 _H_ _ **ow funnY!**_

 _ **Looks like I'm dead!**_ )

The pressure stopped—suddenly, unexpectedly. I looked over towards Shisui, and though he had certainly moved closer to where Zabuza had been crushing the life out of me, he was nowhere near close enough to have been able to stop him before my entire chest caved in.

I looked down now, ignoring the blood seeping through every article of clothing I had on—which, admittedly, wasn't much considering I had just barely been patched up by Shisui. Had we not been in a more dire situation, I might have even blushed at the idea of being so bare and unprotected while in the company of so many deadly people. Unfortunately, though, most of my more usual senses of shame and embarrassment had been long forsaken—given away to this world in return for the sake of merely living a tad bit longer.

Wounds weren't what my attention was drawn to, though—at least, not _my_ wounds _._ Instead, the wound that I _was_ looking at happened to belong to the guy who had just been seconds away from ending my havoc streak in this life.

Zabuza laid on the ground, eerily still. He was mostly unscathed—save for the needles that stood out almost _defiantly_ from his neck.

Shisui and I turned our heads to face my unlikely savior.

Haku stood hunched over, gasping for air and looking anything but alright, yet still he'd somehow managed to peacefully knock out Zabuza like a light. His expression was nearly indiscernible—upset that he had been the one to injure the man who had given him everything who knew, yet relieved he'd stopped Zabuza from waltzing into a premature death.

He looked up suddenly, locking eyes with me rather than Shisui—a strange decision to make when most shinobi would turn to whoever looked more likely to be the leader.

The kid either had a killer sense of intuition, or had simply lost his mind. Whichever it was, I was just grateful that it had prevented the upper half of my from becoming a pancake. He seemed like he was struggling to speak, and I fought with every bit of willpower in me to keep myself conscious for whatever he wanted to say.

"You… You said you could stop Zabuza-sama from dying," he rephrased my words, sounding more and more desperate with each one that rolled off his tongue.

I nodded, too exhausted to verbally reply to the cornered boy.

Haku was much more humble than Zabuza—a fact made undeniable for all the years to come as the boy dropped to his knees, bowing before the person who'd just sabotaged all that he had ever known. His forehead pressed against the dirt, obscuring his expression from Shisui and I.

"Please." His voice cracked. "Zabuza-sama will die if he fights now. My lineage is of a bloodline targeted in the purges. I will pledge loyalty to Konoha so… _please_ …"

Shisui replied in my place, aware that I was far too injured to properly get across the point that I wanted. He raised his hand, scratching the back of his head as he tried to remain stoic—he always had been bad with being cruel to the younger enemies we had who'd been pushed into the shinobi world without knowing any better.

"We weren't going to let either of you be killed in the first place, kid, so would you just lift your head and help me fix my brat up?" he sighed, gesturing towards the pack of supplies that we had picked off of his then-unconscious body. "I have a feeling you know more about medical aide than I do."

It was a noncommittal gesture of peace—a way of showing Haku that we were prepared to trust him, though the situation had already made it impossible for the young boy to betray us. With Zabuza knocked out cold and Shisui being fully capable of taking down Haku without breaking a sweat, he wouldn't even think of harming me under the guise of healing me.

Haku pushed himself off of the floor but kept his head held low.

"Thank you."

And with that, I took the somewhat successfully defused situation as my cue to fall forward, passing out.

* * *

 **We finally see more of how Mai's death played out, and they have Haku on their side! Hooray! Next chapter, we'll be finding out just who it is that Konoha has in their custody.**

 **And with that, I'd like to write a bit of an apology. I apologize for the extended time that it took to write this chapter. Without giving away too many details, I was recently the victim of an assault, and it's really taken its toll on me. I've spent the last couple of weeks with friends trying to help me move on, but it's difficult. I am truly sorry that I was unable to write in that time, though, and I hope you guys can understand. Thank you for being so patient with me, though I can't promise updates as regular as I once did them.**

 **Again, thank you for your time, and thank you for 250 reviews!**

 **As always, have a great day. Leave a review, if you can. I'd appreciate it.**


End file.
